ReIginition
by Hashbrownz
Summary: After some 'unforeseen' events, Finn is driven to Flame Princess's humble abode after three years of absence. Their rekindled relationship will be challenged through trust, love, and an ominous threat now arising in the land of Ooo. (AU after Red Throne.)
1. Chapter 1

Finn had continued his trek through the dense forest separating him from his long awaited treehouse.

He was exausted. If it weren't for the constant thoughts of his cozy bed with warm lit candles sitting next to it, he would have let his legs give out all on their own.

 _Stupid dragons. They don't even eat candy!_

The thought of why the dragon he killed an hour prior had attacked the Candy Kingdom still boggled his mind. However, the fact he was even able to kill it in the first place made him even more amazed.

If it hadn't been for Jake's elastic assistance, he would have surely been dead. Not just dead; squashed in a pile of meat and bones against the candy pavement, burned to a crisp, or eaten were all possible ends to the hero, and he shuddered at the thoughts.

Jake wasn't having it, as he warped into a blindfold covering the beast's vision, giving Finn the opportunity of slicing off it's head clean, receiving roars of applause from the candy people as well as Princess Bubblegum. (And none from the dragon mind you)

 _"I'll see you around dude. Lady must be worried sick about me. We'll hang out next week!"_

 _Jake..._

The thoughts of the yellow kaynine filled Finn's thoughts with sorrow. He knew it was only a matter of time before he eventually had to make the move. He wasn't completely isolated from him, they still hung out every once in a while, but those periods were becoming far in between. Jake needed to move on from his bro's life, and dedicate it to his own path.

But Finn smiled. He smiled at those thoughts, because even if they were no longer as 'tight' as they used to be, he found solace in the fact that Jake had found love, started a family, and began a life of peace and comfort. Those thoughts overcame any amount of dread Finn had. He was happy for him.

 _I had that chance..._

Finn quickly shook the thoughts out of his mind. He was over it, he was over the past. There was no use dawning on it now, it would only bring pain to his heart. But...

 _After three years... It... Why did I do something so dumb?_

Finn slapped himself across the face.

"Ugh! I suck! Even after all this time, I still-"

Finn blinked.

He stopped in his tracks at what lay before him. It wasn't the most curious thing he had ever seen, he had lost track of the many wonders and discoveries Ooo provided for him. Nevertheless, what laid in his path mad him ponder.

"A... Book?"

It was sitting dead center on the path before him. It wasn't thick nor thin, it looked to be around two hundred pages. The color was a dark red with a darker red line forming a hollow square around the cover. It wasn't an old torn book equated to that of garbage or litter though.

It was nearly perfect. It was as if it was fresh off the press and just put on a shelf. Either that, or someone took _really_ good care of it.

"What the... fudge?"

Finn's curiosity spiked and he knelt down to pick it up. There was a tad bit of dirt covering it, but he brushed it off with ease.

There was no title, which made him tilt his head and furrow his brows with a confused look.

He decided to open it from the middle and was greeted with writing. Before he looked on though, he saw dates on the top of the pages.

He quickly realized what it was and slowly shut the book.

"This is a journal! Or a diary... Whatever they're called."

 _I guess it depends on whether it's a dude or lady._

Finn pondered at the book for a second later.

 _Should I... Read this?_

He thought to himself. He didn't really know what to do. Here was this book, supposedly containing closely held memories of the person who wrote it, just sitting out here in the middle of the forest.

Finn wondered if someone possibly misplaced it. The thought had crossed his mind that it could belong to someone long gone, but the state of the book and the date he read when he first opened it told him otherwise. He cracked the book open near the end to see it was incomplete, and that confirmed it.

This was definitely lost by someone... But who? He opened the cover but was just met with more writing. No name, no address, at least nothing that stood out to reveal who's book it was.

Finn felt responsible to return it to it's owner, but he was conflicted about opening it again.

What if this book belonged to someone he knew? What if he read something deeply heartwrenching, embarrassing, or anything else they wished to keep to themselves?

Even if he didn't know the person who wrote it, the act of opening it again felt... Wrong. But how else was he supposed to find it's true owner?

He sighed.

 _Okay. Time for ground rules._

Finn made up some 'journal reading' laws in his head to avoid him spoiling a well kept secret.

If he came across any words or phrases relating to love or any kind of relationships he would close the book immediately and find another page. He knew all too well how important that biz was to people, and he wasn't about to go meddling in that regard.

He also made sure to keep the amount he read on each page to a minimum, to avoid his eyes getting caught leading on and not forming any possible connections.

He breathed deep.

 _Okay._

Finn opened the book to a random page and his eyes began to wander.

 **How could I not realize it sooner? This whole situation is dumb. His stupid prank... How could my brother do something like that to me? I'm her sister for glob-**

Finn closed the book.

 _So... Whoever lost this is a girl. She has a brother..._

Finn knew countless people, dudes and ladies who had brothers. This information was broad... But it helped narrow down the search quite a bit.

He opened the book to another page and began reading.

 **Finn-**

He gasped and immediately closed the book.

What were the chances!? Of all the words to be on the page _let alone_ start with was his name!

This almost shook him out of his shoes!

Whoever owned this book knew him, or knew _of him_. He held his head in frustration, as he feared he was definitely crossing the boundaries reading this compendum of sensitive information.

But he couldn't help but wonder what was on the rest of that page!

Was this person in love with him? Madly in love with him? A stalker? Did she hate him? Was this just about a casual meeting between the two that the human had long forgot? His mind raced with questions, questions he forunately had enough integrity not to find the answers to.

He promised himself this was all for good intentions. This was probably really special to someone and he hated knowing the consequences of losing such an item.

What else was he going to do? Leave the book? Leave it for someone else with not so much integrity to crack open and laugh at? Would he just store it in his treehouse forever?

 _No... I'm doing the right thing._

Finn took another deep breath and opened the book again to a random page. He began reading... But was taken aback by the contents of the page.

 **This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is all my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault-**

Finn looked across at the next page and found it was covered with the same phrase. He closed the book, a bit disturbed by the contents. He then looked at it with a sense of calmness.

 _I know... It's okay._

Finn had actually come to a point where he wrote out all of his frustrations like this, the result of a mistake he made long ago. He knew what this person was feeling as he drifted across the page, and he couldn't help but feel for her.

He hoped that the rest of the entries weren't slathered with the same phrase. Thankfully, when he opened the diary to a period afterwards, it would seem the girl got over her guilt. At least on paper.

 **I miss the days when I was so carefree you know? I could just do whatever I want... Why does royalty have to be so stressful!**

 **It's all worth it though, to see my people this happy and alive, my kingdom-**

Silence.

 _This... This is... This..._

Finn stuttered, even in his mind.

 _This is a princess's diary._

To say he was shocked was an understatement. The numbers were now in the single digits. He could count on one hand how many possibilities there were.

But that didn't even match the guilt he felt after this realization. He knew every single one of the princesses personally, and to think he just went snooping around in one of their diaries made him sad.

He would surely have to explain to the one what he did and accept the consequences.

But.

He must tread on. Better him than some dishonest raider or crazy wizard.

He regretted doing this, but he turned to the same page he read before.

 _If I'm going to find out who's diary this is... It has to be on this page._

He continued to read.

 **My kingdom is more important than my stupid personal struggles. I have to rebuild. I have to prove to them we're not monsters.**

His heart skipped a beat.

 _No..._

 **I have to show Ooo we can be trustworthy. I have to show them we can be honest.**

 _Oh no..._

 **I have to show them the right way. I'll show them. I'll show them fire doesn't just burn. Fire doesn't just breed destruction.**

 _Please don't let it be-_

 **I'll show them. I'll prove my father wrong. I'll prove I'm more than just a decoration stuck inside a lamp.**

The sound of a loud clap filled the air, birds flew throughout the forest at the alarming sound. It had echoed for miles.

It was all too clear.

Deep in his mind, he wanted to believe, believe it wasn't her's.

"Flame Princess..."


	2. Chapter 2

"What... What have I done?"

Finn was trembling at his knees. He didn't have time to register the amount of guilt and dread he was feeling, not before he heard a female voice mutter behind him.

 _"Oh shoot..."_

Finn jumped. He turned around instantly.

There in front of his eyes, a humanoid figure materialized before him. It didn't take him long to snap back to his senses and realize who it was.

The vampire queen was hovering before him with her tan sunhat and a huge red tee, which seemed like a size too big.

"... Marceline?"

"Uh... Hi."

Finn's surprise turned to anger.

"What the bjork Marceline! How long have you been there!?"

"Well... Um, ever since you picked up that book."

Marceline rubbed the back of her head giving a nervous chuckle. Meanwhile finn just grunted and fell back to his knees, gripping his head in frustration.

"I was just... It was supposed to be a joke. Dang Finn I'm really sorry. I didn't know..."

Finn lifted his head up.

"You'd better be! That wasn't cool! Like, ugh!"

He fell back on his bottom with a thud. He looked at the red book he was still holding in his hands, his now trembling hands.

Marceline felt terrible. What was supposed to be a fun little stakeout turned into a witness of Finn's demise, the demise of something sensitive, something she shouldn't have seen, and she felt guilty for making light of such a subject.

"Finn... I'm really sorry. If I had known it was hers-"

"No... No it's okay."

Marceline was slightly relieved at his forgiveness, but nevertheless felt shameful for doing such a thing.

"You didn't know. I'm just... What do I do? What is her diary even doing out here!? None of this makes any sense! And... Wait what are _you_ doing out here?"

"Oh right!"

Finn had just now noticed Marcy was carrying a bag hunched over her shoulder. She set it on the ground and rummaged through it for a couple seconds. Finn watched with puzzlement.

"Ugh, where is that, I swear I put it-"

Marcy dug deeper into the bag until the whole half of her body was now inside. Finn was admittedly amazed, as the bag in no way was big enough to let her that far in. It was almost as if there was a hole in the bottom of the fabric and she was inside the ground.

"Ah ha!"

Marceline whipped herself back out of the bag and pulled out a paper sleeve of some sort. Upon further inspection Finn realized it was a record.

"I came to give this to you. I hoped I would catch you on the path back to your house. Just... not like this."

"I told you it's cool Marcy."

Finn's attitude brightened and so did Marceline's.

"Well, it took me forever to find the collector's edition but I managed."

Finn took the record sleeve in his hands. He wished he could be happier and give an appropriate reaction that one of his best friends bothered to get him something like this.

Finn ran his hands across the sleeve cover then pulled the record halfway out.

"There's a reason I didn't get you anything for your b-day. I knew how much you'd like it so... I decided to hold off until I could find a copy ."

Finn smiled at her. The gift did cheer him up a little bit.

"Thanks Marceline. I mean it. I'm sorry you had to come give it to me after..."

Finn looked at the book he left in the grass. Marceline crossed her arms and nodded.

"I know, priorities and junk. And I messed up too."

Finn carefully inserted the presumably valuable record into his pack. He then picked up the book, now with a more positive attitude from Marceline's gift and hopefully her continued support.

"What do you think happened?" Finn asked.

"Hmm... Actually when I was way way _way_ younger I had a journal too. Eventually I grew out of it, but when I did write I would always find a cool spot to just chill and let my thoughts run."

They both looked around their location.

 _This definitely isn't a good location._

FP was, obviously, a fire elemental, so the fact that there was literally wood _everywhere_ made this a terrible place to even be present in. Trees surrounded them, branches and leaves covered the top letting in little sunlight. There were twigs littered throughout the ground, which was also covered in dead grass.

This wasn't even mentioning it wasn't that pleasing to look at either. It was a more run down part of the forest.

"Yeah..."

Marcy rubbed her shoulder.

"You know, even if she did decide to chill here and even _if_ she would wonder this far away from the kingdom... And didn't burn the place to the ground-"

Marceline chuckled at her rambling.

"I highly doubt she would forget her diary anyways." She concluded.

Finn nodded in agreement.

"I figured. I guess I'll know when I ask her in person."

"Wait... You're going to see her?"

"Well..."

Finn starred at the book again.

"She's probably never gonna talk to me again when she finds out I opened it... But I have to."

"You could always let me take it."

Finn pondered the option for a moment, but declined Marcy's offer with a wave.

"No... I... Maybe she won't freak out, or maybe she will, I dunno. But..."

He looked Marcy straight in the eyes.

"I haven't seen her in three years and... This just happens. I think it's about time I face her. What if she misses me? What if she still cares about me and... And I've just left her alone all these years? I highly doubt that's the case but, I don't want to stay away if that's the way it is."

Marceline just looked at him.

"Also, I don't want you snooping."

Marceline scoffed.

"Come on dude! I'm dead but I'm not _that_ far gone!"

Finn laughed.

"I'm kidding Marcy."

Marceline rolled her eyes and smiled at the boy.

"Well... I'll come with."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah I got nothin better to do. Actually..."

Marceline walked a couple steps back. Finn wondered why initially, until she hunched over and wings began to spring from her back.

She transformed into her demon form. She sprouted out of the tree line and caused leaves to fall, along with a couple crows to fly away, cawing in disgust. Her feathers flew towards Finn as he shielded himself with his arms.

"Ew gross!"

"Oh relax shorty."

She motioned Finn to hop onto her back as she sprouted her wings wide.

"I'll give you a lift! Let's get you to your lady."

"Wait like... Now?"

"Yeah! Let's goooo!"

Marceline seemed strangely enthusiastic about their trip, as she pointed her fist towards the air in preparation to take off.

 _This is just gonna keep me awake if I decide to go tomorrow anyways._

Finn looked at his watch.

 _It's not even noon yet either..._

Finn couldn't help but shrug as he climbed a nearby tree and hopped onto Marcy's back. She then took off into the air, and Finn held on tight. He then relinquished his grip once they were at a steady speed.

Marceline's form was strangely soft. Considering how, ehem, _menacing_ Marceline's demon body was, Finn was pleasantly surprised at the comfort it provided. In fact, he took it upon himself to lay against her head and rest for a bit. He had forgotten how fatigued he was from the previous battle with the Dragon.

"We'll be there in a little under an hour I think."

"Cool. Come to think of it, I don't think I've never ridden on you like this before."

"Well there's a first time for everything right?"

Finn suddenly stood up with worry.

"Wait! Shouldn't you be like, burning?"

"Ha! Dude, you are seriously out of it."

Marceline raised her arm up towards the sky. Finn hadn't noticed the day had become quite cloudy. Some sun still leaked through the atmosphere, but not enough to harm Marceline.

"I guess this whole thing is just erking me."

An idea sprung up in Marceline's head.

"Hmm. Say... Why don't you tell me about Flame Princess?"

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. I mean I don't actually know a lot about her, or your relationship."

Finn remained silent.

"Uh... Sorry. If you don't want to that's fine."

 _I'm gonna have to face her regardless._

"No it's cool. I guess... Where do I start?"

Memories raced back to Finn's mind about their time spent together, but he decided to keep it short.

"We started hanging out after Jake tried to find me another, erm, 'love interest' after I realized I didn't have a chance with PB."

"Finn, Prubs is not your type."

"Yeah. I wish I realized _that_ sooner."

They both shared a light chuckle.

"I really liked her though. FP I mean. Something about her just... It felt right being around her, even if I did get burned when I was too close."

"...Do you mind me asking how you two broke up?"

"Oh... I thought you knew."

"All I know is Simon got into a fight with her and almost destroyed the whole quadrant of Ooo. I don't really know how that relates to you though."

"...Well..."

Finn nervously clenched his teeth and looked around. He didn't know at what.

"I kinda, sorta, maybe... Picked the fights with them."

Marceline kept her eyes forward, seemingly unaffected by his response as she continued to fly towards their destination. Finn twiddled his thumbs. He was still lying on her back taking comfort in the feathers.

"There's more to it than that."

"Yeah... Well... I had this dream with the Cosmic Owl when they fought the first time. Back then FP was just trying to impress me I guess. Jake pestered me to get them to fight again and fulfill the next dream... So..."

Marceline continued to listen attentively, all the while Finn sighed in disgust at his previous actions.

"I ticked them off myself. They fought two more times... But I wasn't doing it because of the Cosmic Owl. I was getting this sick... _Pleasure_ from the dreams. I don't know what it was."

Marceline fumbled losing her balance. She quickly corrected herself.

"Woah, you okay?"

"Finn, you don't realize what?-"

Marceling carefully chose what was going to come out of her mouth next.

She decided to play it safe, knowing Finn probably wasn't in the mood for another health lesson.

"Never mind. I'll tell you when you're older."

"Marcy, I'm seventeen."

"Nope, still not old enough."

Finn scoffed while Marcy smirked.

"Anyways..."

"Anyways." Finn repeated.

"I thought about it for a while... And... I realize all I did was use the Cosmic Owl as an excuse. I wanted to think the entire time I was doing it for the sake of something spiritual, but it was really just to fulfill my stupid fantasies. I decided the third time was far enough... So I fessed up."

Marceline sighed, realizing her friend had missed a great opportunity with someone special...

"That wasn't cool Finn."

"I know."

"No I'm serious. I hope you had time to reflect on what you did."

Finn sighed.

"I did. I thought about it every day, every night. I still do, it keeps me awake knowing that I hurt someone so... Pure... And kind... And... Beautiful. She didn't deserve any of it, and I blew any chance of her looking at me the same way again.

Marceling frowned, all the while Finn slumped against the back of her head.

"I never realized how much I loved her until I pushed her away."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Do you regret telling her the truth?"

Finn breathed a deep breath. He didn't have time to think of the answer, it was already clear in his mind.

"Absolutely not. I bunked up. Our relationship was over the moment I did it."

Marceline smiled, as she saw an opportunity to brighten Finn's attitude again.

"Finn... I don't know how relevant what I'm about to say is but..."

"...Yeah?"

"I think you should take solace in the fact you didn't lead a lie. You recognized what you did and told her the truth, even if you knew what it would do to your relationship."

Finn looked over his shoulder at Marcy's head. Despite her face facing the opposite direction, he recognized her presence.

"I don't know a lot of guys who'd be able to own up to a mistake like that. You have my respect."

Finn felt a sense of relief creep across his mind, even if it didn't consume every thought of guilt he had. Now that Marcy mentioned it, he was grateful he didn't let what happened go unsurfaced, else he could have hurt FP even more, probably by a large margin. He was at least glad for what he could do after the fact.

"Thanks Marceline. It's nice talking to you about this stuff. I appreciate you coming along."

"No prob dude."

Finn decided to discuss something else on his mind, something he thought to be a bit humorous.

"...Hey, you know I've been thinking."

"Hmm?"

"What if this whole situation is like... A message from glob?"

Marceline laughed.

"Finn, what are you talking about?"

"I mean, think about it. I was just on my own way to my own house, then I find the girl I love's diary just sitting there, right in front of me, in the middle of the woods. Don't you think it's a bit of a coincidence?"

"...This whole situation is driving you crazy man."

"Hmm, yeah maybe. I can still wonder though."

Their trip continued with bits of banter from the two friends. Small talk about their lives and some about Finn's fiery lover were sprinkled across their conversations.

All the while, Finn was becoming increasingly nervous about his visit.

The kingdom was on the horizon.

* * *

"Finn, you seriously need to chill."

Marceline could feel the hero practically vibrating on her back from nervousness.

"I can't help it! I never really thought about what I was gonna say to her."

"Ugh, hold on a sec."

Marceline had realized they were now in walking distance from the kingdom. She decided to land on the mostly scorched grass separating the grasslands from the heated rock that replaced the ground before them. Marceline had shifted back to her 'human' form, and Finn landed on his feet.

Marceline turned towards Finn with a look of Solace.

"Finn. Listen to me."

He remained silent and stern. He gave her his full attention.

"I think that you've matured a lot over these past years."

She put a hand on his shoulder.

"You've grown into a really cool guy. You're responsible, caring, brave, and always bring positivity wherever you go. You're not the same person you were three years ago... You're better, and I hope Flame Princess recognizes that."

Finn blinked.

He never, _ever_ expected to hear someone like Marceline say such positive things about him like that.

Her compliments made him confident. He was filled with a new urge of discovery and righteousness. With his newfound strength, he lunged forward at Marceling enveloping her in a hug.

She was taken aback by the action, but decided ' _oh what the heck'_ and returned it.

When they broke away, Finn looked at Marcy with a newfound sense of determination.

"Thanks Marceline, you're a mathematical friend."

She shrugged.

"Eh, I try."

Finn put his hands on his hips with a doubtful expression.

" _Really?_ "

"Yeah... No. But I thought I'd make the exception today. Good luck man."

She raised her arm up for a fist bump and Finn returned the action, their fists colliding with **newfound respect!** Afterwards, she waved goodbye and disappeared, flying back to from where they came.

Once she was out of sight, Finn turned to face the fiery kingdom once more.

 _Whether this goes well or not, I'll still be glad to see you again._

* * *

 _Alright so am I doing good? This is my first fanfiction so any feedback would be appreciated!_ _Also, I get the feeling this chapter is gonna give off the impression of a love triangle._

 ** _Nope!_** _Marcy and Finn's relationship is platonic, and it's gonna stay that way. (I never saw them as compatible anyways.)_


	3. Chapter 3

Finn had continued his trek towards the almighty Fire Kingdom. The dead grass he and Marcy arrived on was now replaced with that of rock and dried magma, which by the way, was very very hot.

His shoes remained fully in tact, it wasn't hot enough to cause any sort of damage, however the heat was still becoming unbearable for his feat. He was beginning to find it hard to breath as the scorching climate was zapping away oxygen.

"Where is that darn Flambit!"

Finn muttered to himself as he looked for the notorious fire elemental. If he was going to access the kingdom without burning alive, he would need the flame shield spell first, which Flambo always provided in exchange for a quick snack.

 _Wait... A snack!_

Finn quickly realized he may not actually have payment in exchange for Flambo's services. He had hoped the diary itself would be leverage enough to get him to cooperate, else he had to go scouting for some bark to make coal.

"Finn!"

He heard from his right. He quickly turned and found the Flambit standing on top of a boulder, with a giant smile sprawled across his face. He hadn't expected to see him so soon.

"Flambo!"

The Flambit dropped down and waved to the human.

"It feels like forever! Hows you been? Wait... Wheres you been!?"

Finn gave a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. He knew the reasons for his absence, but decided to keep it to himself. It was his biz.

"Oh, you know me. 'Seeking out danger and treasures hidden amongst the lands'... Heh. I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while."

"Man it's been like three years! What's so important that kept yous from even coming by to say hi?"

"Well..."

Flambo's expression turned to one of understanding, and he quickly realized the answer to his own question.

"Never mind. I knows why, Flambo won't meddle in your personal junk."

Finn had hoped to keep the reason hidden, but even though Flambo knew, he decided not to pressure him about it. Flambo was somewhat of a lose cannon, but still a good buddy.

"Thanks man."

"So what brings yous here now? I hope it's for them reasons I thinks it is."

"Yeah... But most of it has to do with this."

Finn took his pack off setting it on the rock. He took out the red book and showed it to Flambo.

"What's that?"

"Wait... You don't know what it is?"

Finn was startled. He expected Flambo to know what it was... Flame Princess would have told any of her loyals to keep an eye out for it... Right?

"Can't say I do. Never seen that book before."

Initially Finn thought maybe this could be someone else's property, but he was one hundred percent positive it belonged to FP. There were too many factors in place.

"Um, do you know if Flame Princess lost anything recently?"

Flambo jumped.

"Yes! Well, uh, kinda. You see we thinks someone broke into her room a couple days ago and stole somethin'. You should've seen her, she was flippin'! Like, she was really distressed about the whole thing goin' missing, and let me tell ya, I've seen her stressed out before, but that was nothin' compared to this!"

"Uh..."

"Strangest thing though, she refused to tell anyone about the thing she lost, which I don't get at all. Like, how does she expect us to find it if we don't even know what the junk it is?"

Flambo looked at the book.

"Unless..."

"..."

"Finn, what is that?"

"Uhh... This? It's nothing!"

He quickly held the book behind his back in a futile attempt to remain loyal to Flame Princess's wishes.

"Holy stuff! Finn, is that-!"

"Quiet dude!"

Flambo quickly covered his mouth with his hands. Finn looked around the area frantically to make sure nobody was around. He continued in a much quieter voice.

"Yes... It's FP's... Thing."

Finn cursed himself. He messed up.

It should have been common sense to him that Flame Princess wouldn't want anyone to know about her treasured journal's presence. The fact he revealed it to Flambo made him feel as if he betrayed her trust, _again._ As if he hadn't done it enough times.

It's not that he didn't trust him, he knew Flambo enough to know he could keep a secret, without doubt. But it would have been better to avoid this conversation all together and just ask him for the shield. The fewer who knew, the better.

"There's a reason she didn't want you to know."

Finn looked around their location for a moment. He felt he was being a bit too cautious, but he didn't want anyone peeping. His previous encounter with Marceline had him on edge this time, and he wasn't gonna let anyone, no matter how small the chance may be, hear this conversation. He leaned in close to Flambo, but remained far enough to prevent burning.

"Look, I know we haven't seen each other for, like, a _long_ time, but you have to trust me on this. You do not want to know what's inside this book. It's a secret for a reason, and you need to-"

Flambo had gasped. The realization hit him like a glass of ice cold water. The book, FP's reaction, it had all made sense to him now.

"THAT'S HER DIA-"

"SHHHH!" Finn said as he put a finger to his mouth.

Flambo was shocked. He never expected this at all, the fact that his ruler even kept entries of her feelings was news to him. Had he not knew FInn personally, he would have assumed he was the one who stole it, but he quickly disposed of the thought. FInn would never ever do such a thing, even if he was dishonest with her in the past.

Once Finn realized the coast was clear, he addressed Flambo again.

"DUDE!"

"Sorry! My bad."

The jig was up, Flambo now knew of the diary's existence. The only thing he could do now was keep it from getting out of hand.

"Please keep this on the down low Flambo. You weren't supposed to know either. If any of this gets out, there is gonna be a lot of trouble.

"Woah, of course Finn. Not a word, I swears it."

"Good."

After Flambo came back to his senses, he couldn't help but wonder what the hero was doing with the book in the first place.

"But... Where did yous find it? Yous didn't open it did you?"

"It was just laying on the path to my house in the south part of the forest. I don't know what the fudge it was doing there."

"Yeah? And?"

"Ugh, I didn't have any other way of finding out. I couldn't find her name, so I had to skim the book a bit to know who it belonged to. I read a couple sentences, that was it. I promise I didn't see anything personal."

Finn confused himself with how much 'personal' was. The entire book was personal, but he didn't meddle in anything that he didn't know about FP already, aside from maybe a rough relationship with her brother.

Flambo understood what Finn meant, and he gave an assuring nod.

"I believe you bro. I'm assuming you want to give it back to her majesty, am I right?"

"Yes! You think you could-"

Finn was interrupted by Flambo's chanting. Runes began to escape from his mouth, presumably part of the ancient language the Flambit was speaking. Before he had time to react, Flambo spat a wad of his, what he assumed to be spit, onto his forehead. A blue aura began to surround him, and he quickly felt the coolness of his long awaited flame shield. He squeezed his hands together to get a sense of feeling.

"Math! Thanks Flambo. I'm sorry, but I don't have any coal."

"Forget about the coal man! Get to your woman!"

Finn blushed.

"R-Right! It was good seeing you Flambo. And remember-"

"I know, not a word. I promise."

"Thanks man, I owe you one!"

Finn said as he ran off towards the front gate of the kingdom, all the while Flambo was waving goodbye to him in good spirits.

* * *

 _So... Her diary was stolen?_

As Finn approached the great walls of the Fire Kingdom, he attempted to put together what he had learned from Flambo a few minutes prior.

 _This doesn't make a lick of sense. If someone did want to steal it why would they just leave it laying around in the woods like that? Did they drop it?_

Finn stopped his walk when he realized he was at the foot of the wall. The gate stood before him as well as two massive Fire Guards, dawning menacing armor and intimidatingly long spears. He gulped as they addressed his presence.

"Finn the human." The guard on the left said.

"What is your business here?" The right finished.

Finn decided against addressing Flame Princess's 'stolen' item. From what Flambo told him, it was clear FP wanted to keep it a secret. It was already enough trouble two people knew about the book's existence, and Finn wanted to keep that the maximum.

"I have come to see Flame Princess."

The guards looked at each other for a few seconds, then back at Finn.

"Very well. You may enter."

Finn gave a relieved sigh as the gate opened for him. He began to walk towards the entrance, but was stopped when one of the guards raised his spear in front of his path.

"Wait. We must inspect your luggage."

He gulped. He had no choice but to relinquish his pack to one of the guards. He grew increasingly more nervous as the sifted around, looking for anything suspicous.

"Hmm... Nothing out of the ordinary."

He gave the pack back to Finn and he gave a giant sigh of relief.

"You may enter."

* * *

Finn passed through countless flame citizens as he strolled through the kingdom's numerous markets and districts. They all eyed him with curiosity, as he stuck out like a sore thumb with his blue body in the midst of the orange and red. He did however receive a couple of friendly greetings, but they came with those of unpleasant scowls and glares as well. He was loved and hated here, and it wasn't difficult to see why.

Finn has been on the good, bad, and neutral side of Flame Princess throughout their relationship. She looked up to him at first, then she frowned upon him, and then she simply saw him as a comrade in the midst of her besiegment of the throne. Word tends to get around... And he prayed to glob none of the information he contained did.

Walking through the streets of the kingdom gave off a variety of emotions. Nevertheless, something seemed... Off to him.

The atmosphere, while having a variety of attitudes and emotions, had this unsettling anger surrounding it. Even weirder... The friendly interactions he did have with the citizens didn't seem... Natural. Finn couldn't put his finger on it, then again he wasn't that familiar at all with how the elementals acted. FP was the rare exception.

But what bothered him most were the few times he heard anyone talking about their ruler, it was nothing but ill-will and negativity.

 _"I can't live like this anymore man."_

 _"She's not experienced enough to rule a kingdom."_

 _"The truth hurts... It hurts too much."_

 _"I wish her father would just usurp her again already."_

 _"Why is she so cruel?"_

Finn desperately restrained himself from acting out on the elementals who made such comments. But... What was causing them to do so?

His mind was too flooded with questions, about the diary, the kingdom, and it's ruler. He figured once he saw FP in person, all would come to light. That is, if she didn't kick him straight out of the palace first.

He was now on the front doorstep of the castle. Strangely though, there was nobody around, save for two guards that held security at the entrance.

Not a citizen could be seen in the area. Finn decided not to mind it, and approach the entrance.

"Yo." He greeted the guards.

"Well if isn't Finn the Human."

"Come to visit the princess,

""We assume?"" They both asked in unison.

"Uh, yeah? Do I have permission to enter?"

They acted almost identically to the ones Finn saw at the front gate. He figured it was just a result of their heavy militarization.

"We apologize, but she is not present in the throne at the moment."

"Oh... Well do you know where I can find her?"

"She's-"

Finn was interrupted by the front door opening on it's own. Someone was coming out from inside. His heart jumped at the thought it may be Flame Princess, however instead, it was but her Sugary lead knight, with his lance at his side and the same blue aura coating his body.

"... CB?"

"What? Finn!?"

Cinnamon Bun replied with shock. The last thing he expected was seeing the human at the doorstep of the palace.

"Wh- Uhm, How-, look I- Uh..."

Finn was surprised at how he found it difficult to talk to the pastry. He failed to make out a complete sentence, and CB watched with puzzlement.

Finn had never thought about having to do this when he arrived here.

Ever since FP's control of the throne was retaken by all of their combined efforts, and CB proclaimed his love for her, he had that of a sour distaste towards the knight.

He knew however, it was just a result of his immaturity. He had to grow past that at some point... But the thought did creep into his mind...

 _Are they... Together?_

If not, did Flame Princess find someone else to be with in his absence?

He knew he would be heartbroken if this was the case... But Finn had to keep his integrity. This wasn't about him. None of this was.

 _No, none of this is about me. Not at all. This is about her. It's time to shut up and grow up, Finn._

He knew CB didn't deserve his anger, not one bit, and it was Finn's code to not harbor any ill will towards someone without reason.

That was evil, and he refused to give into such emotions.

"Hi CB." Finn said with a nervous wave.

"'Hi CB' is all you have to say after three years!?"

"Well... I mean..."

The pastry laughed, and it had taken Finn by surprise.

"I'm messing with you. It's been forever though hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has." Finn gave a nervous chuckle.

How could he harbor any hate towards someone like him? Finn regretted ever doing so. He was someone who had emotions just like anyone else, and it was further backed up by his dedication to Flame Princess that he was more than just that, he was a friend... No matter how he looked at her.

 _Ugh, I'm sorry CB... Though I guess that doesn't matter if I just say it in my head now does it._

"Well what brings you to..."

Noticing CB himself had just walked out of the throne room, and noticing Finn in front of him, he quickly realized his reason for being here.

"Oh, you're here to see her aren't you?"

Finn rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah. I was wondering where she was."

"She's in the courtyard. I'll take you there now if you want."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, thanks CB."

Cinnamon Bun motioned Finn to enter the castle, and so he did.

The throne room looked almost identical to when he saw it three years ago. There were some chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and numerous paintings of what Finn assumed to be FP's heritage lining the walls. There was a long red carpet leading up to her throne, which of course, was empty, and so was the rest of the room. Nobody but Finn and CB were present in the room, which made Finn a tad confused. He expected to see citizens or common folk mingling or something, but nobody else was here... Save for Don John and Flame King, who were still strung from the lamp after their failed attempt to regain power. To Finn's displeasure, they didn't remain silent.

"Finn the Human? My eyes must be playing tricks on me!" FK said.

"What's that brat doing back here?" Don John added.

Finn scoffed at their 'greetings'. He did his best not to let their insults get to him and ignore them.

"I bet your daughter is gonna be _really_ happy seeing _him_ again."

"Hah! How do you think she'll react? The dude abandoned her for three bloopin years!" They both joked.

"Yeah! Hey boy! You did a great job! I'm actually jealous of you, I don't think even I could have done something so cruel!"

"What if she throws him in the dungeon?"

"Ohh, that'll be good. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

"Maybe she'll burn him to a crisp right then and there!"

"Hahaha! Not before she brings down this whole kingdom first."

CB decided to interrupt their rather crude remarks.

"That's enough you-"

"Stop it! You can mock me all you want for my mistakes but leave Flame Princess out of this you ding dongs!" Finn yelled as he stepped in. The citizens talking trash about his ex already put him on edge, but he didn't want to cause any kind of disturbance in the busy streets. Now, he was up close and personal with two of her most hated enemies.

"Acting all tough now are ya?" Don said.

"I hope that serves you well in a couple minutes! Hahaha!" FK said.

They both laughed hysterically, all the while Finn's anger continued to spike. CB put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Not worth it man, let's go."

Finn sighed. Now was not the time to let his anger get the best of him. He nodded and CB lead him to the left side of the room and held a door open for him. Flame King and Don John were still slinging insults at them, but they ignored it. They were but muffles when Finn shut the door behind them.

As they walked down a rather long hallway, CB decided to make conversation with Finn.

"So, why is it you waited so long?"

Finn stumbled, but regained his posture.

"I dunno... I guess I just felt like she didn't wanna see me anymore."

CB looked back towards Finn as he walked.

"What? Why's that?"

Finn didn't know what to say. There were a lot of reasons, most of which related to him. He had been a complete jerk to her, first with the whole dream fiasco and he wasn't too pleasant around her afterwards either.

"...Does it have something to do with what I said? After we defeated FK and DJ?" CB asked.

Finn recalled those moments like they were fresh in his memory.

"I guess it did have something to do with it... But that was completely on me. I was really dumb back then and I had a lot of junk going through my head."

"No... I'm to blame too."

"What? Why?"

CB had shuffled with his hands.

"I knew how you felt about her... And still I went off and said something... Something like _that._ "

CB stopped walking and turned towards Finn, the motion caused him to stop in his tracks as well.

"That was... Really insensitive. I want you to know it was a platonic thing. I love her like, you know, a brother would."

Finn was shocked. All this time he had thought CB had actually developed these feelings toward her... But all this time he just wanted to be protective and kind... Like Jake was to Finn.

Thinking of his four legged friend, _or how many legs he chose to have at the time_ , made Finn a bit bummed, but he shook it from his thoughts and refocused on the matter at hand.

CB had started walking again, and Finn followed suit.

"But... Still. I felt like I just kinda 'replaced' you in a way. You've supported her ever since she got out of that lamp, and I just barged in and took your place next to her. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Finn could tell this was something CB genuinely cared and thought about during their time apart.

And he couldn't hold any grudge against someone so respectable.

"Don't be sorry man. I can't help the way you feel, and I also can't help the way I acted back then. I'm the one who drove her away... She needed someone more responsible to help her afterwards. I appreciate it."

CB smiled. This clearly wasn't the same Finn he knew years ago. _He would never, ever call him responsible_. Chuckling, he couldn't help but think back to the times he was a clumsy, good for nothing moron who nearly destroyed his previous home on more than one occasion.

They both had issues, and it's clear they worked through them and grew from the experiences.

"Thanks Finn. And... I think it's worth mentioning FP missed you."

Finn was almost surprised, but based on the way CB was acting, he expected it.

And he felt guilty for it too.

"I guess in the back of my mind I thought she would. I was just too scared to face her."

"So, why now?"

Finn shuddered. Even though CB was FP's valiant protector and her closest friend, he couldn't bring himself to tell him.

Or maybe he knew already? It was a possibility that he was the only person she'd trust with the information, but Finn couldn't be too careful.

"Uh, I don't really know. I guess I thought three years is enough time apart."

"Hmm, well I guess that makes sense."

Now on the topic of FP, Finn decided that maybe it was a good time to address the current state of the kingdom and it's citizens' attitude towards their ruler.

"So... I know that's just how DJ and FK _always_ act, but... Have you noticed FP's peeps are badmouthing her too?"

CB sighed.

"Unfortunately, her new rule of complete honesty hasn't been resonating well with the citizens these past couple years."

"...What? Why? I thought everything was working out."

"It did... Until everyone began to realize that complete and utter honesty is too much honesty."

Finn began to understand.

"The divorce rates have been skyrocketing and people have been losing jobs. The truth is becoming too hard to bear at this point."

"But... Can't she just change it?"

"It's complicated Finn. You have this race of beings who have been evil for their entire existence, and now FP comes along and tries to immediately turn this on it's head and make everyone 'nice'. Believe me, she's tried changing the rules, but it's just created more confusion and resulted in mass hysteria. The fire people just aren't ready for this kind of shift yet."

"Dang..."

Finn couldn't help but wonder how Flame Princess has been fairing after hearing this information.

"How is she holding up?"

CB sighed again.

"Not good. I fear she may be reaching her breaking point. She's been able to keep it together up until the beginning of this year, but now I think the stress is getting to her. And..."

"...And?"

"Someone stole something out of her room."

Finn shuddered at the last part. He was currently holding what she lost in his pack, but part of him was relieved it would bring some weight off her shoulders once she knew it was safe and sound.

Still, hearing Flame Princess was going through such problems made Finn angry. Now, he regretted more than ever not coming sooner. In fact, if he had never found the diary in the first place, it was possible he could have never visited again...

Leaving her to suffer in her dying kingdom.

"...What was it?"

"That's the thing, she never told me... Or any of us. I don't know what the heck it was, but it's really not helping with her current situation."

"Why do you think she didn't tell you?"

"Well, my guess is... It had to be something private that only she knew about. I can't think of any other reason."

 _You're not far off._

CB had turned a corner around the hallway and Finn followed. They were soon met with a large double door, and CB turned around to face Finn.

"We're here."

Finn looked to CB, then back to the door.

"She's going through a tough time now Finn... Please try to cheer her up any way you can."

Finn nodded, meanwhile CB had pulled out a stack of papers from... Well, from somewhere. He held them up so Finn could see.

"I need to deliver these to the local bank. Royal junk, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"I trust you'll take good care of her in my absence."

CB put the papers away and he walked past the boy, putting an arm on his shoulder as he passed. He gave him a wink before he rounded the cooridor and was out of sight.

Now, it was just Finn and the door. On the other side was that of the person he loved, the person he always cherrished in his heart, no matter what.

Finn felt determined to make amends with her, any way he could, and help her out of these difficulties she was facing.

He would do everything in his power to help her.

Finn took a deep breath, and opened the doors.

* * *

 **OOF! Almost 4500 words, guess I just kept on rambling lol.**

 **Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I dunno if Finn's acceptance of CB was believable but I just wanted to get it cleared up.**

 **Next chapter is the one you (the very few of you) have been waiting for. I'm gonna pour my soul into it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Finn was met with the outdoors once again as he opened the doors, enough light pouring in that Finn had to cover his face for a moment. The sun's setting was facing directly at him, that combined with the darkness of the palace's halls made his eyes need to readjust.

Once they did, he was greeted with the gorgeous sight of the Fire Palace's courtyard. Finn had expected the ground to be simple rock, but instead, it was what looked like...

"Grass?"

Of course, the traditional green grass Finn had grown used to could not possibly survive here. No, it was orange! And glowing! It almost made the ground look like it was on fire, as the ferns glowed and gave off tiny sparkles of light. There were also trees, but just like the grass, were not normal trees.

They were black, but he was convinced it was their natural color as they retained an "oaky" texture. The leaves they supported were a more redder shade of orange, which complimented the grass. There were various other plants littered around the courtyard, as well as that of statues and fountains. All the while a river of lava was cutting through the scene.

Finn wasn't sure if any of these herbs would harm him, though he assumed from their glowing properties, and the fact they were able to even grow here, it wouldn't be safe to touch anything without his flame shield.

Still, it looked quite beautiful.

Finn chuckled to himself.

 _Why would she ever go to that dumb forest to write if she has a place like this?_

Finn looked around for the ruler he was scared of wanting to see, but couldn't find her from his current location. The courtyard was quite big, so he had to continue into the garden if he was to find her.

He crossed a bridge to get over the river of lava, which admittedly, did make him uncomfortable. Lava could still kill him even with flame shield, so he wanted to keep as much difference from that junk as possible.

He looked as he walked, still taking time to admire the garden but focusing on finding FP as his main priority.

Just like the throne, no citizens were present. Just the occasional guard that passed by on duty or something.

 _Where are you?_ He thought to himself.

His question was soon answered, as he heard that of a faint sigh coming from his left. He knew that exasperated breath anywhere.

It was her.

Finn panicked and ducked behind a tree. As he peeked his head out from the cover, he was greeted with the sight he had so longed to see.

It was Flame Princess, sitting on the lava riverbank twiddling a 'fire flower' in her hands. Finn was surprised (and found himself blushing) at what she was wearing. It wasn't her traditional fire armor. Instead, it was a light orange summer dress, which went up around her neck revealing her bare shoulders and arms. She was barefoot as well, wearing nothing on her legs.

Finn thought she looked absolutely perfect, right then and there. Her sitting on a riverbank fooling around with a flower, her simple dress which just made her all the more beautiful, and the feint smile across her face as she plucked the pedals off of the object, it all reminded Finn of why he fell in love with her.

Her innocence, her passion, her beauty, it was all encompassed in this very moment.

 _Who am I kidding, I'm madly in love with you._

Finn chuckled to himself thinking those thoughts.

But he needed to get back on track. These feelings weren't important right now, not at all.

 _Okay... How do I do this. Do I just walk up to her? What should I say? Actually..._

 _You know what? I'm gonna be stuck here forever thinking about this. I'll just make it up as I go._

Finn had just decided to wing it. No more cowardice, no more of those childish thoughts he always harbored in his mind. He was going to do it.

 _Just do it._

Finn had crept around to an angle behind Flame Princess. She was still fiddling with her flower as Finn walked up. He was but a couple feet from her when he decided on, what he assumed, to be a good approach. He raised a closed fist to a tree that was standing next to him.

 **Knock knock knock knock knock.**

Flame Princess's head quickly rose up, but it came down soon after in disappointment still facing the same direction.

"CB... I told you I wanted to be alone didn't I?"

Finn smiled.

"Ahem, my dearest apologies your highness. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Finn said, giving a poorly improvised impression of the pastry knight.

Flame Princess had gasped and jumped to her feet. She slowly turned around to meet the eyes of the human, giving her a gentle smile as he looked at her with longing.

"...F-Finn?"

He rose his arm up for a gentle wave.

"Hi FP."

It felt like minutes, then minutes began to feel like hours. She didn't move from her spot. Her lips were beginning to quiver and Finn swore she didn't blink once. Before long, she took a step forward, then another, then another, then what started as a simple walk turned into a full on sprint towards the defenseless boy.

"Whoa whoa whoa!"

Finn quickly raised his hands up in defense, assuming she was about to send him hurtling into the atmosphere at the speed of light.

Instead, she grabbed Finn over his shoulders and he was brought into a hug. She came in at an angle, and the force was strong enough that it sent Finn, along with Flame Princess, in a full circle spin before she touched the ground again.

It almost looked like a dance.

She held on tight, and Finn felt an ever growing heat creep onto his face. If he didn't know better, he figured he looked like a tomato right now.

But nevertheless, he decided to return the hug, and wrap his arms around her waste.

He was glad to see her too, and it was too long they had been separated.

When they relinquished the hold on each other, Flame Princess looked Finn straight in the eyes.

"It's so good to see you Finn! I... I thought you left! Like, forever! I th- Hey wait a minute..."

Flame Princess held a confused look for a second, and she raised her hand up to look at it. Finn's happiness was short lived as he felt a hand smack across his face.

"What the bjorking bannanaballs Finn! What's your problem!?"

He rubbed his cheek as he let out a light chuckle.

"Yeah... I deserved that."

Of course, her being _totally_ happy was too much to ask for, but he still appreciated her previous comment.

Flame Princess crossed her arms and huffed.

"Talk."

Finn sighed. He knew he was going to have to do this eventually. He put a hand to his head and he adjusted his hat from the blow he had just taken.

"I don't know where to start."

"Well you'd better start _somewhere_... Else I am gonna torch your buns till there's nothing left down there!"

Finn had cringed at the thought, but couldn't help but smile at her threat.

"..."

Finn breathed another deep breath as he recollected his thoughts.

 _Those_ thoughts.

The thoughts of all the ways he had wronged her.

The thoughts of how he was a self centered jerk.

The thoughts of his entitlement.

His feelings.

His actions.

His raw, uncontrolled emotions.

"Flame Princess..."

He hung his head. FP was surprised by this action, and she took a step back.

"I'm sorry. For everything. And _grod_ I mean... _Everything._ "

Flame Princess uncrossed her arms, and let them fall to her side.

"Look. Back when... When we were together, I felt like we had, you know, a _thing._ I felt a bond with you, one I felt with nobody else... I don't think I ever looked at someone the way I looked at you."

FP listened in silence.

"I threw that bond away. I decided to give into my own selfish desires and manipulated you. I messed with your emotions... Something you never, ever deserved considering everything you've been through. What I did was unforgivable. It was vile, it was cruel, it was... _Evil_... It was the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life."

Finn brought his head up and looked at her, face to face.

"I threw it all away. I killed it."

"...Finn..."

Flame Princess couldn't help her mutter.

He didn't stop there. Finn didn't know what it was... But a smile crept onto his face as he continued.

"And... And then... I gave you my half-assed apology that I didn't have any right to give. I didn't know what I did wrong, I didn't know how you felt."

"..."

"Then... I thought you owed me something. I thought you owed me a relationship after I said 'sorry', after I thought I righted the wrongs I caused. It pissed me off."

Finn clenched his fists.

"It **pissed me off** you wouldn't come back to me! After I said I was sorry! I thought you were supposed to come back!"

Flame Princess took another step back. The tone of his voice almost frightened her as he let out the cold hard truth. All of his bottled up emotions were now being spilled out right in front of her.

Then, she noticed something. Something she had, in all the time she knew Finn, seen him do only _once._

He was crying. Tears were forming and they fell down his cheeks, disappearing soon after from the searing environment.

She couldn't believe it. Contrary to her observation when they had first met, Finn really didn't _cry all the time._ He never once let water escape from his eyes again when they were together. She knew he had valued his 'masculinity' and that was probably a result of it...

But now...

"And you know what I thought when you were overthrown in your own kingdom? I saw it as an opportunity."

Finn's hands were now trembling. He was clenching his fists so hard he began to feel blood leak down his fingers.

"I saw it as a way to impress you. I didn't care about your position. I didn't care about your rule. I didn't care about you at all. It was all about... Me..."

Finn held his face in his hands as he began to sob uncontrollably.

He never wanted this to happen. He never expected he would get this vocal and frustrated at himself in front of _her._ But he couldn't control it. It was as if his brain was on autopilot.

"Then... Then I left you..."

Finn had fallen to his knees. He was tired. His legs couldn't support himself anymore. Flame Princess gasped and quickly jumped forward to support him. She knelled and took hold of his shoulders to balance him.

She then felt Finn put but one of his bloodied hands on hers as she held him up.

"I left you... I left you because I was too scared to face you again after what I did."

Finn knew he lost it. The best he could do was muster up the rest of his strength and give Flame Princess at least one bit of coherency.

He wiped his tears away with the palms of his hands, and he looked at her, refusing to tear her away from his vision as he said what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry. I was entitled, I was self centered, I was selfish... I became what I made a vow to destroy. I betrayed every shred of trust we built... Flame Princess..."

Flame Princess couldn't help a tear escape from her right eye as Finn finished his heartfelt apology. No... It felt more like a confession.

"I'm sorry, for everything."

"..."

"..."

Flame Princess... Smiled.

It was the most genuine smile she had ever made.

She didn't say anything though, rather, she pulled the human into another hug, tighter, much tighter than the one before.

Finn weakly brought his arms up to grip her dress, as he had let the rest of his emotions spill into the crook of her neck.

Flame Princess slowly brushed his covered head with her free hand as he cried, letting out every last bit of raw uncontrolled sadness, anger, and regret. He heard him mutter things in self loathing, holding on as if his life depended on it. He wasn't aware his tears were causing her discomfort, but she didn't react. The pain was nothing if it meant she could hold him like this.

 _"I was so stupid."_

 _"I could have been better... You deserved better."_

 _"Why was I such a fool?"_

There were many more things he said, things Flame Princess thought not to intervene with. Instead, she gave him every ounce of support he needed to get through what he was experiencing.

"It's okay..."

She whispered.

 _"It's okay..."_

She said again, this time in a much quieter and comforting tone.

They had stayed like that for what seemed like fifteen minutes. Flame Princess had noticed Finn dozed off by then, and she shuffled a bit so he was no laying on her lap, using her legs as a makeshift pillow.

Flame Princess smiled. She couldn't help but find his sleeping form rather cute. She played with some of his strands of hair that managed to escape the bear hat, entwining them in her fingers. She giggled as she felt his breath tickle her legs.

Two guards who had been passing by caught her attention, and she waved for them to come closer. She put a finger to her mouth signaling them to be quiet.

"What is it your majesty?" One of them whispered.

"Could you two arrange a room for this dummy I found in the courtyard?"

One of them gave a light chuckle.

"Yes, right away your highness."

"Thank you."

Flame Princess brushed his cheeks with the back of her hand, which she unfortunately couldn't feel correctly because of the flame shield. Any tears that were once there had long since dissipated.

Her smile soon dissipated when she let out a small sigh, still stroking his cheek.

 _You've got some nerve..._

Her left hand moved to her chest, feeling her heart's rhythm. There was but the slightest tint of red on her cheeks.

 _To make me feel this way again..._

* * *

 **Yeah that's it, I'm done for the night.**

 **Decided to finish this chapter since I was getting _really_ into it, probably more than I should have. I always wanted Finn to give an apology to her like this on the show.**

 **Holy molasses I am tired tho. Will update again soon.**

 **Also let me know of _any_ spelling or grammar or, whatever inconveniences you find. In a rush to get this posted before I go to bed, so I probably missed some stuff.**


	5. Chapter 5

Flame Princess watched the sun rise for a good hour as she leaned against the windowsill.

Her garden attire was replaced with that of her original dress. She was admittedly growing tired of the fire armor, and only chose to wear it when she was addressing her citizens.

She felt strange.

She felt the weight of a kingdom bearing on her shoulders.

She felt the paranoia her precious journal had fallen in the hands of some weirdo.

But that all changed with the presence of the young man that approached her just yesterday. She looked behind her to find him, peacefully resting in his bed, his breathing slow and relaxed.

It was as if all of FP's worries had disappeared when she was around him.

As she looked back at the sunrise, she couldn't help but wonder about how their relationship would ensue after he came back.

Through their time apart, Flame Princess had always taken into question her feelings for him. She had always found herself conflicted about it.

It's true that she was driven away from him after what he did, it's true he acted selfishly towards her afterwards... But she always replayed the good memories along with the bad ones. When they would go dungeon crawling, hang out at his house and play video games, and their first kiss.

 _The kiss..._

It was after that she knew who this person was and why she wanted to stay alongside him forever. Even after nearly killing him, and recognizing the notion that there could be world ending consequences if they were to stay together, Finn still wouldn't leave her side no matter what.

 _Is that selfishness or dedication? Or... Both?_

She chuckled to herself. But it was still a fact that even knowing her unstable properties, Finn still wanted to be with her.

She looked back at him.

 _Does... He still love me?_ She asked herself.

She knew Finn loved her... Loved, as in the past tense. She wasn't entirely sure if he harbored those same feelings toward her now, and she wasn't completely sure of her own feelings either.

He mentioned multiple times during his apology about his feelings, but it didn't really seem... Relevant. As in, it wasn't clear to her if anything he said about their relationship still applied.

She was knocked out of her thoughts as Finn began to shuffle around on the bed. He rolled on his back and brought his arms up to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them.

"My head feels like bloongoballs."

He said sleepily. Flame Princess put a hand to her mouth containing another laugh.

She then walked over to him and sat in a nearby chair and pulled it up next to his bed. He wasn't fully aware of her presence yet. Once his eyes fully adjusted to his surroundings, he realized he was still in the Fire Kingdom. When he looked to his right, he was met with sight of Flame Princess, who was sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, both arms on the arm rests and hand holding her chin. She had an adoring smirk on her face.

"Morning sleepyhead."

Finn quickly sat up in his bed.

"Flame Princess! I... Uh, look about-"

She waved her left hand, dismissing his statement.

"It's okay. We don't need to talk about that right now Finn."

He smiled knowing that it was over, he cleared everything up didn't he?

But he quickly disposed of the thought. The realization hit him that there was still _one more thing_ to take care of. He mused himself with the fact he came here to give her the diary back, but made amends first instead.

 _I guess I really did want to say sorry._

First though...

"Am I in the palace?"

"Yeah. You passed out and it was getting pretty late, so I reserved a room for you."

"Oh..."

Finn gave a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't realize how tired I was."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

Finn had looked around just to make sure nobody else was in the room with them, he even peeked out the windows.

"...Finn? What's wrong?"

She looked around with him as well, thinking he may have detected an inturder.

"Flame Princess, is anyone outside?"

"Just some guards? They're always stationed outside the room I'm in."

"Okay... Then we need to be really quiet."

"Why?" FP asked in a whisper. She decided to go along with it.

Finn realized he didn't have his pack next to the bed, and he quickly panicked. He was reassured however when he found it sitting on a couch on the opposite side of the room.

Finn got up from his bed and went to retrieve it. He sat down on the couch and Flame Princess did so next to him. She watched as he shuffled through his bag to find the appropriate item, and when he did, he was tempted to bring it out.

"I want you to _promise_ not to freak out when I show you what's in here. Okay?"

Flame Princess was hesitant. She didn't really know what Finn was getting at, but she agreed nonetheless.

"Okay."

Finn had pulled out the book.

Flame Princess gasped, and didn't hesitate to rip it from his arms and cradle it close to her chest. She was blushing furiously, her once bright orange face was now a deep red. Her mouth opened, and Finn had expected her to yell, but instead she closed it.

She looked around the room, identically to when Finn did before. She proceeded to run over to the windows and close the curtains, then slowly walk back to him.

He didn't expect her to sit back on the couch with him.

The diary was still held close to her with both arms. It just no occurred to Finn just how she was able to hold it without setting it ablaze. There must have been a spell on it.

"...What are you doing with this?"

"FP I can explain. Really I can."

She didn't speak. She didn't know if she was angry, sad, happy, she couldn't figure out the right emotion to express at this very moment. She was confused beyond belief.

She wanted so much to believe he wasn't the one who did it.

"Flame Princess, please look at me."

She was facing the ground, her lips trembling.

"Please listen to me FP."

The desperation in Finn's voice knocked her out of her trance, and she slowly turned up to face him.

"I know someone stole it, but it wasn't me. I swear to it on my life."

Finn had put his hand on his heart as he said those words. Flame Princess shook her head furiously at the thoughts she was having.

"No... I should know better."

Flame Princess took her hand in his.

"I believe you Finn."

Finn felt what seemed like several thousand pounds of emotional weight being lifted off his shoulders as she said that.

He was glad she trusted him. After everything he did, she had every right to accuse him right then and there. She wouldn't be in the wrong at all, there was probable cause for all of it. The thought of her still having faith in him after everything made him smile.

He gripped her hand tighter.

"Thanks FP."

"But... What were you doing with it?"

"You'll probably never believe this, but I was just on my way home and I saw it sitting in the woods. It was just laying on the ground."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" She yelled with her whisper.

"I know. I've been trying to put the pieces together but... Well, there really aren't any pieces to begin with."

Flame Princess looked down at the book, and she opened it. She skimmed across some pages then flipped them. It was at an angle that prevented Finn from seeing anything, not that he would look.

"Did you..?"

Finn hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see a name and I didn't know how else to find out... But it was only a couple sentences I swear. I didn't read anything revealing."

Flame Princess's face remained motionless as she shut the book.

"What did you see?"

Finn was caught off guard. He actually never expected her to ask this, but he had to tell the truth.

"Tell me the pages."

 _Uh oh._

"Uhhh..."

FP glared at him. Finn became increasingly nervous. He remembered every single date and page he looked at as if it was burned into his memory. An act as guilty as that wouldn't leave his mind anytime soon. Finn sighed in defeat.

"Seventy four. I read the first two sentences."

Flame Princess didn't seem to recollect what she wrote, and turned to the page he specified. She found herself scoffing a bit at the book.

"Torcho you butt." She quietly whispered.

She nodded after she finished, and he took this as a queue to tell her the next page.

But he hesitated.

If he remembered correctly, this was the page that he stopped dead on after he saw his name was the first word.

He squinted his eyes and tensed up, preparing for the worst.

"Fifty five-"

Finn saw Flame Princess almost drop the book in shock. She then slammed it shut and her fist immediately morphed into an unstable spike of fire. Her now red face was even more flushed from anger and further embarrassment. Finn held his hands up in defense.

"Only the first word!"

At that, Flame Princess slowly calmed herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, and let it all out, moving her hands in a wave motion as she did.

She sat back on the couch.

Finn was about to say something, but FP quickly held her hand up to his face.

"Don't."

The inflamed ruler took another deep breath.

"If you ever, **ever** , ask me about that entree, I'm going to turn you to a pile of ash, got it?"

Finn viciously nodded his head, and Flame Princess waved her hand forward, signaling him to tell her the next one.

Finn reached back into his mind to fish out the page number.

"Ninety two."

Flame Princess turned to the specified date and Finn noticed her expression darken a bit. This was the one that was slathered with the same phrase of guilt for the whole two pages. Finn felt bad knowing it probably reminded her of a mistake she made in the past.

Flame Princess sighed, then nodded, motioning him to tell her the next one.

"One hundred and five. I read the first two and a half sentences."

She turned the pages and found it. Finn remembered this was the one that lead him to believe the book belonged to a princess, which one however was still up for debate at the time. FP didn't show any emotion as she looked at it, then nodded again.

"Eighty one. I started somewhere in the middle, it was four sentences."

Instead of Flame Princess turning the pages again, she simply closed the book and laid it on her lap. She stayed silent for a while, and so did Finn.

"I guess that's when you found out huh..."

"Yes."

"If you know it went missing... Did you tell someone here?"

"...I did. Flambo spelled the whole thing out for me, but he swore he wouldn't tell anyone."

She smiled a bit at the information.

"Well... I'm glad you told him and not anyone else. Flambo's trustworthy, I don't know about any of the other royals besides CB."

The question did spring up in his head at that last part, did she tell CB? There was also one other person who knew, and he wasn't sure how FP would react if he told her.

Nevertheless, he had to.

"Well... Marceline eavesdropped when I found it."

She gasped.

"What!?"

"Wait FP! We cleared it up it's-"

"The vampire!? She could be-"

"It's cool! She's cool I mean! She won't utter a word! I've known her for like five years, and I promise she'll never ever tell anyone about this ever! Forever!"

"Well she apparently wasn't 'cool' enough to respect my privacy in the first place! Yours too!"

"But- Well..."

Finn sighed, meanwhile FP crossed her arms.

"You're right. It was a bunked up thing to do... Needless to say I was pretty ticked. But she felt really bad about it afterwards. It was just supposed to be a joke you know? We mess with each other like that all the time... If she had known it was your diary she wouldn't have done it I swear."

Flame Princess still looked unconvinced.

"Look. Marcy used to be in a relationship actually, and let me tell you, her boyfriend was _the worst._ He was probably the most dishonest person I've ever seen. Believe me when I say she knows more than anyone how important this personal stuff is."

Flame Princess uncrossed her arms.

"Yeah, she peeped, she sneaks into my house sometimes too, but it's just all fun and games. I know she'd never seriously violate my private junk in any way."

Flame Princess sighed.

"Okay, fine."

"Awesome."

FP smiled at him. She scooted back towards the wall of the couch and pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"I'm sorry if it looks like I don't trust you."

"Don't be! This is-"

Finn made sure to keep his voice down.

"This is _your diary_ we're talking about. I don't blame you at all."

Flame Princess took a huge breath again.

"Finn..."

Flame Princess scooted closer to Finn as he gripped his hand again, this time she used both of her palms. She stroked his with hers, and Finn was becoming increasingly nervous.

"This must've been really hard for you... But you have my everlasting gratitude. Thank you for keeping this a secret, and not digging any deeper than you needed to. I really appreciate it."

Finn blushed. FP never let go of his hand, and he gave a nervous laugh.

"Y-you're welcome."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So... Are we cool?" Finn asked.

Flame Princess giggled.

"Yeah, we're cool." FP replied.

FP let go of his hand and she slumped against the back of the couch, holding her diary close.

"But there's still the matter of the creep who stole it." FP huffed.

"Do you got any investigator peeps on the case or something?"

Flame Princess motioned to her Diary.

"Right..."

"I know I seem overprotective, but... This is really special to me. I can't let anyone know about it."

"Don't worry, I totally get it."

Finn looked up at the ceiling as he recalled owning something of similar value in his past.

"I had something like that too. Believe it or not, it was a wad of a girl's hair."

Flame Princess burst out laughing. She fell back against the couch as she tried to contain her giggles.

"You're joking!"

Finn couldn't help but laugh a bit himself as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No no I'm serious! When I was way younger there was this person I liked. I kinda knew I never had a chance, so I kept some of her hair around to remind me of her. If anyone found out about it I'd probably never go outside again."

"Well, you got me beat. How'd you even get her hair anyways?"

"It's a _long_ story."

Flame Princess managed to contain the rest of her giggles. She then looked back at her diary and held it close again. The thoughts of the supposed culprit leaked back into her mind.

She whipped her head back against the couch and groaned.

"Ugh, you know what? He's gone now, I have my thing back, I'll just let it go for now."

FP quickly got to her feet.

"Finn, it's been really nice seeing you again. But I have to... to...

Flame Princess herself was stumped.

 _Didn't I have something scheduled today?_

"Wait a minute!"

Finn noticed her hand was raised and she counted her fingers. Once she was done, she looked back to Finn with a huge smile on her face.

"Finn, let's go do something!"

"I... What?"

"It's Sunday! Today's my day off!"

 _Ironic that 'Sunday' is your day off. I guess that's kinda cool._

Finn figured this was an excellent opportunity to get FP's mind off all the junk she was dealing with, and they have been apart for what seemed like ages. He did want to spend some time with her.

"I'm game! Watcha wanna do your highness?"

Flame Princess smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"You up for a dungeon?"

Finn pumped his fists up in the air as he got up.

"Oh yeah! But..."

Flame Princess tilted her head.

"What's up?"

Finn took the sleeve of his shirt and brought it up to his nose, sniffing it.

"Shoot dude I reak!"

It was then that Finn had noticed FP still had her diary with her. It would probably be best if she went and locked it up before anything happened to it.

"Hey, why don't we meet up outside the kingdom? We both got stuff to do. I need to find a river or something and wash off."

"What? You never bathed in lava before?"

"Very funny."

They both shared a laugh.

"Alright Finn, I'll see you in an hour."

"Sounds good." Finn replied.

Flame Princess skipped over to the door. She opened it, and Finn raised a wave to her.

"Bye." Finn said.

She stepped through the door, and was now peeking her head into the room as it closed. A light giggle roled off of her mouth.

"Bye Finn."

The door was shut. Finn was left alone, and now that he was, he proceeded to give the biggest fist pump he had ever given in his life.

"Math."

* * *

 **Staying up late again... Holy shimoly.**

 **So someone pointed out that in the canon, Finn didn't really 'abandon' FP. They still saw each other on occasion. This is more of an 'AU' story where Finn didn't bother visiting her after they retook the throne.**

 **Also he/she thought the apology Finn mentioned in the previous chapter was from "Bun Bun", when he was actually talking about the one in "Earth and Water". Finn apologized two different times in the show.**

 **Just wanted to clear that up. Hope yall are enjoying this. Remember to leave some feedback and let me know of any inconveniences with spelling or grammar.**


	6. Chapter 6

Flame Princess opened her nightstand drawer and set her diary inside. When she closed it, she let out a relieved sigh and flopped on her bed.

 _Finn..._

Her thoughts were filled with that of the human boy. The memories of their interactions in the past twenty four hours filled her mind with something strange.

She almost felt... Anxious? Was that the right word? Paranoid was another one.

She was anxious and paranoid, about what? Well, of course the weirdo who took her diary was still on the loose, and the the kingdom's state was driving her completely mad.

But it wasn't about those things. Finn was all that was on her mind.

 _Did he think I didn't trust him?_

 _Did I over react with the 'fifty five' thing? Oh glob what if he actually thinks I'd kill him!?_

Flame Princess knew she'd never do such a thing. She intended to play it off as a warning, the 'don't say anything about it or there will be serious consequences' sort of thing.

 _Could I have been too harsh with Marcy? What does he think of me being suspicious of one of his closest friends?_

 _Did I look stressed? I don't want him to think I'm stressed..._

 _Could I have been nicer?_

 _Should I have waved to him on the way out?_

 _Did my hair look nice?_

 _What about my dress? Does he think this look is getting repetitive?_

She blushed as she realized her thoughts were now drifting to something as irrelevant as her appearance. She quickly buried her face in her pillow to hide her flushed face from the absent audience inside her bedroom.

"What is this?"

She rolled on her back as she covered her forehead with her right hand.

 _Maybe this dungeon raid will be able to take my mind off-_

She perked up.

 _Right! He's coming._

 _What? That didn't make any sense, why would I want to take my mind off someone I'm glad to see?_

She rubbed her temples.

 _I'm going insane. Maybe I need to wash off too..._

 _Wash off..._

 _..._

 _Without clothes..._

 _Finn's washing off..._

 _Without-_

She mentally slapped herself and shot up off her bed, rushing to the bathroom attempting to run away from the inappropriate things she was spelling up in her mind.

She let the lava fall onto herself, closing her eyes as she took in it's warmth.

FP was already scorching hot to begin with, she was basically made of fire, but the lava still added a level of heat for her to relish in.

She hated to admit it, but she didn't _quite_ know the full biology or inner workings of her race.

 _What is wrong with me?_ She thought as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She draped a towel over herself and exited the shower, now looking herself in the mirror.

 _Why do I care what Finn thinks? I can make my hair look any way I want._

She morphed her hair into a couple different styles, but she always found herself going back on her original statement. If she thought Finn wouldn't like it, she wouldn't like it.

FP sighed in defeat.

 _I decide how I want my hair to look..._

She figured that because they were possibly going to be facing numerous dangers in the dungeon, it would be best to keep it out of the way.

 _And I want Finn to like it._

Her hair morphed into that of a drape, and she pulled out a black 'fireproof' hair tie to put it into a ponytail.

She smiled at herself. Surely it would be an effective choice for their adventure, as well as looking beautiful.

Flame Princess had decided not to put much more thought into her dress. She figured her traditional look was fine and not to overplay it. At first she had considered wearing her fire armor, but it would only slow her down. She knew she could handle herself in a fight without a bunch of rocks protecting her.

 _I guess I really don't like that outfit._

As she exited the bathroom, she couldn't help but wonder why she was feeling so self conscious all of a sudden.

No, she knew perfectly well.

 _Maybe I just don't want to admit it... But I guess he never really left._

Flame Princess shut the bathroom door behind her and slumped down against it, blushing.

 _Do I really still feel the same way? After all this time-_

She was kicked out of her head when knocking on the door was heard. Flame Princess got up and walked towards the exit, opening it.

She was met with her personal knight at the door, bowing in her presence.

"Your highness."

Flame Princess scoffed.

"You're just doing that to annoy me aren't you."

CB kept a grin on his face as he nodded, and FP invited him to come inside. The pastry shut the door behind them, and Flame Princess went back to sit on her bed.

"How did things go with Finn?"

She found herself blushing again from the mention of him.

"Uh, good! We kinda made up last night."

CB held his smirk and crossed his arms.

"I heard _quite_ the story from the guards."

FP rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah..." She said flatly.

"I have to say, I didn't know Finn could break down like that."

"I understand though. It was pretty important to him..."

"Hmm... Did he find our accommodation satisfactory?"

Flame Princess giggled.

"Expanding your vocabulary I see? Yes, he slept well."

CB held his grin.

"How would you know that?"

She perked up, her blush returned.

"I-It's n-not like that! I just wanted to see him when he woke up! I only stayed for an hour..."

 _...And a half._

CB continued to look at her with the same face.

"It's Sunday, did you two plan anything?"

"CB stop it! If you're _that_ curious, then yes, we're going out."

"...Going out?"

Flame Princess had gasped at her choice of wording, and quickly corrected herself.

"Not like that! I meant- It's a... It's not a date!"

" _Sure..."_

Flame Princess scowled at him, all the while CB took in the humor of the situation.

"We're just gonna hit a dungeon and catch up a bit, that's all it is."

"Hold on, you didn't say anything about a dungeon."

Flame Princess grunted.

"I can handle myself, and it's not like you're my dad."

CB put his hands on his 'hips', or whatever region of his round body represented them.

"Yeah, but I can still worry."

"Pshh, I'll be fine. Finn's got my back." She said with a wave.

Flame Princess looked up at her clock and noticed nearly an hour passed since they arranged plans. She quickly ran to her windowsill and opened the window.

"I'll be back around three. Please watch over the kingdom until I return."

He put a hand up to his forehead in solute.

"Yes ma'm!"

She could only shake her head and sigh at his jokes.

Flame Princess then took off flying out of the window. She had just now realized they actually hadn't decided on a specific location other than 'outside the kingdom', but she knew with her aerial prowess she could find him in no time.

* * *

Finn flung his head out of the water and shook it around, his hair whipping about sending droplets of water in all directions.

His hair was shorter this time around, reaching down to right below his ears in length.

He took a deep breath as he brushed his hair back out of his face, and began his ascent out of the pond.

Retrieving a towel from his pack, he brought it to his hair and ruffled it around, then brought it to the rest of his body to dry it.

It wasn't until now he had noticed his flame shield wore off.

 _Huh. It was there before I jumped in..._

Finn shrugged and decided not to worry about it.

 _Magic's weird. Doesn't really matter anyways, it's not like FP is gonna wanna touch me._

Finn stopped drying with a tad of disappointment on his face.

It kind of saddened him knowing they were hanging out 'as friends', he missed being intimate with her, even if it did burn him.

But Finn knew his boundaries. He slapped both his cheeks and shook his head again.

 _Come on Finn. Friends, just friends. Those times are over._

And yet he still couldn't get passed it. He didn't want to.

Nevertheless he continued drying off and proceeded to put on his clothes. He decided against the bear hat for now, as his hair was still a bit damp.

Finn took a pocket watch out of his pack and checked it. He was a bit surprised to see how much time had passed since their arrangement.

 _Oh bunk! We never decided on an actual location did we._

Figuring FP would just come look for him, he decided to find a tree and climb it, giving him a good vantage point for FP to spot him. If she was flying that is.

He got settled on the top of an unusually large evergreen and looked around, holding his hand over his eyes from the sun's glare.

"...Huh? Is that..."

If he didn't know any better, he thought she looked like a shooting star.

"FP! Down here!" Finn yelled as he waved his hands rapidly.

It was then that Flame Princess took notice of Finn's presence and flew over to him. Finn proceeded to climb down the tree and await his friend on the ground.

FP slowed her decent and landed with a run, then slowed to a walk.

"Hey FP! You ready to-"

"Hi Finn! Sorry I kept you-"

They both stopped. They were but a few feet away from each other when they caught themselves staring.

A few seconds passed by until Finn decided to ask something.

"...Is there something on my face?"

"Uh, no? Is there something on mine?" FP asked back.

Finn blushed as he looked away from her rather quickly. FP did the same.

"It's just... Your hair looks really nice." Finn said.

"Your's too. I never see you without your hat on." She replied.

They both broke into nervous laughter.

"Well... While you were gone I got the scoop on this old temple nearby."

Flame Princess's curiosity spiked.

"Ooooo. Whatcha think's in there?"

Finn began to walk along and waved FP to follow. She caught up and walked next to him.

"I dunno. I hope it's not skeletons."

"Right? So overplayed. Say..."

Finn looked to his left at her.

"Yeah?"

FP looked over Finn's character and noticed something vital missing from his inventory. They couldn't go dungeon crawling without it.

"Finn, where's your sword?"

"Oh right!"

Finn raised his arm up to show FP the green slither of grass laced across his wrist. Flame Princess looked puzzled at the gesture.

"Yeah what is that? It's been bugging me ever since you came back."

"Lemme show you. Bam!"

With the flick of Finn's wrist, the sliver of grass twirled up his hand and turned to a solid green blade. Flame Princess put her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Pretty cool right?"

"That's awesome! I hope it's more than just grass though..."

"It's magic! Believe me, I've tried breaking it."

Flame Princess rolled her eyes.

"Do I even want to know how you got it?"

"I'll tell you sometime."

As they continued their walk, something else was on FP's mind.

"So how's Jake doing?"

Finn's attitude darkened a bit at the mention of his friend.

"Well, he moved out earlier this year."

FP was taken by surprise at this.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. He and Lady are basically inseparable now. He and I both knew he had to make the move eventually."

"...Are you okay with it?"

"Yeah. I'm happy for him. He found someone he wants to be with and I respect that."

"You still see him though right?"

"Occasionally. But we're seeing each other less and less now. I just hope he doesn't forget about his bro."

Flame Princess gasped.

"Finn he would never! No matter how distant you two become you'll always still be close. Don't undervalue your friendship."

Finn's mind was put at ease a little from FP's words. A smile formed on his face.

"You're right."

"I know I am. I-"

She was suddenly caught off guard by what she was about to say.

Nevertheless, she felt it was important for him to know.

"Never forgot about you either."

Finn blushed a bit at her concern.

"Thanks FP. -Oh."

Finn stopped along with Flame Princess along the path. An ancient building stood before them made of dark grey bricks and littered with moss. It formed a pyramid like structure and was merged into higher ground. The passage was closed however.

"We're here." Finn said.

They both put their hands on their hips as they looked around for any possible levers or switches.

"Okay, I'll look around here, you go over there." FP suggested.

"Sounds good."

Flame Princess felt the rocks sitting below her to see if it was pressure triggered. Finn tugged on some tree branches to see if they would do anything. Nothing happened.

Finn got down and approached the door, putting a hand to his chin. FP was still pressing half burried rocks.

"Hmmm..."

Finn put a hand to the door and was surprised to feel... Nothing. His hand fazed through it completely. Flame Princess noticed this and quickly ran over to him.

"Illusionary door? Never seen that before."

"I've seen them a couple times." Finn replied.

* * *

They emerged through the fake doorway and would have been met with total darkness had it not been for FP's properties. Finn gave a relieved sigh when he looked around.

"No bones!"

He ran ahead and inspected the hallway further, but stayed close enough to FP to maintain the light.

"There's... No anything." Flame Princess said.

Her observation was correct as the hallway they walked through contained nothing but scattered bricks and moss. Finn decided not to pay too much mind to it, as it was probably just a product of the dungeon's 'theme'.

"Oh, gold." Finn said as he quickly ducked down to snag a gold coin off the ground and continue walking.

"I didn't know you were still into this dungeon thing." Finn said.

"No I actually like it a lot. You were right when you said it takes your mind off things... Thanks for coming with me."

"No prob Bob."

 _...What?_

"Oh hold up."

Finn raised his arm as a signal to stop moving. They approached a massive room, and they hid behind a pile of bricks by the entrance to scope out the scene.

The room was completely bear save for a couple of bricks. There was nothing of note inside, until Finn looked up that is.

A giant chandelier hung from the ceiling, dwarfing that of Finn and FP in size. It was made of what seemed like small pyramids linked together in a variety of shapes and patterns. There were multiple lines of them, and they were each attached to the ceiling. A strange yellow orb was mounted in the center of the intimidating decoration.

FP looked at Finn as they hid.

"How much you wanna bet that's an evil chandelier?" He asked.

"Only one way to find out." FP responded.

FP rose her arm up towards the massive object and closed one of her eyes to aim.

She pointed her index finger and shot a small bit of fire towards the object, but at a great enough speed to cause severe damage.

The shot of ember connected with one of the lines and severed it, causing the chandelier, to FP and Finn's disbelief, roar in pain.

The rest of the pyramid lines detached and the massive object plummeted towards the floor.

"Get down!" Finn yelled.

FP heard him and ducked under the cover, dust and various other debris flying over them.

When they peeked their heads out, they found the chandelier to be revealed as a giant squid like monster, using the lines of linked pyramids as serrated tentacles.

"Nutsoids!" Finn yelled as he ducked out of the way, dodging a tentacle slamming right through their cover. FP ducked to the other side and was now separated from Finn.

Finn grunted and summoned his grass sword to cut the tentacle mid way.

The monster howled, and withdrew what remained of its appendage.

"Any sign of a weak spot?" Finn aksed.

"It has to be that yellow thing in the center!" FP said as she pointed.

Finn took notice of the orb and readied his sword.

FP quickly shot up going airborne. She shot a stream of flames towards the orb but the surrounding links kept any fire from getting inside.

She landed with a frustrated grunt.

"It's protected by all those tentacles! We need to cut it down."

"Right!"

FP went for a different approach and summoned her fire sword. Another one of the monster's arms was sent hurtling towards FP, but she quickly sidestepped and chopped it in two.

The monster was now stunned, and FP rushed forward to sever more of the monster's links.

Part of the monster crumbled to the ground, the lines falling to the ground with a jingle.

Part of the orb was left open and FP rushed to attack it, but was slapped by one of the arms and slammed against the wall.

"FP!"

"Ouch... You're gonna pay for that you dingus!" She said raising her fist in anger.

The monster prepared another arm to attack her, but Finn quickly severed it with his grass sword.

The monster prepared another tentacle to attack him, along with two more. One of them lashed at Finn and he dodged, however it was only a fake out so the other two could strike with ease.

Flame Princess quickly flame shifted towards him and raised her sword to deflect the arms. She couldn't cut them however.

The tentacles straightened themselves to strike FP as a sword would, and she continued to block the attacks. Finn was caught in the same situation as the monster was basically fencing with them.

It attempted to trip them up by sending one of its arms in a sweeping attack, but Finn jumped over it and FP went airborne again. The arm attempted another strike but Flame Princess parried and cut the arm off.

"The core!"

It was right in front of her.

Flame Princess was smart enough to realize more arms remained, so she attempted to fake it out.

She readied to pierce the core with her sword, dashing towards it, but quickly ducked underneath the monster. The tentacles expected for her to attack it and slashed at her presumed location but missed.

"Finn now!"

Finn had already got the jump on the monster as he leaped into the air over the tentacles as they recovered from their attack, plunging his sword into the vulnerable core.

Light leaked out and it immediately shattered, causing the rest of the linked chandelier monster to fall to the floor.

A slab on the other side of the room opened revealing another hallway.

"Yeah!" FP said as she raised her arm up for a high five.

"Teamwork!" Finn said as he slapped her hand in return, but quickly regretted it as he remembered exactly who he was touching.

"Yow! Hot!"

Finn held his arm with his other hand and blew on it furiously.

"S-Sorry! I forgot your shield was gone."

"No no FP it's fine! I can take it."

Flame Princess looked down at Finn's scorched hand.

He looked over to the now shattered orb of the monster, and a key was revealed to be inside. He knelt down to pick it up.

"Nice. This is probably for something down the road."

He turned around to show FP, but was met with a look of guilt from her. Finn gave her a reassuring smile in return.

"FP really, I've had worse. Come on, let's keep going."

"..."

"Uh, hey, why don't you take the lead this time?"

"O-Oh, okay!"

FP walked towards the new entrance and Finn followed close, but not too close. He figured that letting her lead the way was a good choice, and her attitude did light up a bit.

She heard the slightest sound of concrete sliding, and she felt his foot sink into the ground. FP quickly duck down towards the floor, as an arrow flew straight over her head. It impaled itself on the opposite wall.

The arrow had a green flaming tip that remained shining bright even after it's impalement. Finn took notice and admired it.

"Huh." He simply said.

FP looked back at Finn with a look of worry.

"Careful. Looks like traps."

"Can't you just fly over FP?"

She actually hadn't thought about that before, but she shrugged with a smirk.

"Well where's the fun in that?"

Finn laughed.

" _Oh, okay_. Wanna do this legit?"

"Sure do."

 _Glob... I love you._

 _...!_

"...What?"

"Uh, what?"

"You just muttered something. What was it?"

Finn gasped. Did he actually think out loud?

 _Wait... Wait I was just thinking wasn't I?_

He had to act fast.

"Uhh... I said I... Loath... Traps. Yeah. I loath traps. They're the worst."

 _I could have sworn I... My mind must be really dumb today._ FP thought.

"Yeah, traps suck right?" She nervously said.

Finn took another step forward but didn't put his full pressure down. He carefully stepped on the next tile, and it remained level.

"This'll be easy. We just need to keep a light foot." FP said, she mimicked Finn's actions.

Finn admittedly stepped too quick and didn't take enough time to study one of the tiles, and another arrow sprung from the wall. It took him a a split second to realize it was aiming for his legs and he jumped over it.

The arrow stuck to the wall and Finn carefully landed on one foot. Luckily the tile wasn't a trigger.

"Jeez Finn be careful!"

"I'm good."

He studied another tile with his foot and set down on it.

Their slow trek through the hallway ended when they neared the next room. To Finn's displeasure he found bones littered throughout the floor.

Both of them sighed when they viewed the contents of the room.

"Bunk!" Finn said.

Skeletons.

The room kind of looked like a burial room of sorts, but the skeletons were humorously using it as some kind of rec room. They could be seen using Coffins and makeshift tables and there were some even playing Ping Pong on one.

"Come on Finn they look _kinda_ cool." FP said.

She was right, the skeletons dawned some kind of ancient armor. It was a rusted yellow color and felt reminiscent of the design of the chandelier monster from before. It looked to be from the same creators at least.

"Alright. Whatcha wanna do?" Finn asked.

FP put a hand to her chin.

"How's about we just take em'? There's only like, eight."

"Sounds good to me." Finn said as he pressed his fist and palm together.

"-What the...?" One of the skeletons said.

"WRAHHHH!" They both yelled as they plunged into the room, swords at the ready.

"Oh sh-"

"Bam!" Finn yelled as he slashed one of their heads clean off. The now decapitated skeleton began to turn into ash, and disintegrated. Another skeleton quickly drew an ax and slashed at Finn. He dodged and it went straight into a coffin, destroying it. Finn kicked it out of its hand and punched it straight in the face, then stabbed his sword through its back.

Flame Princess was fighting a couple on her own as well. She parried one of their swords and sent hers straight into its chest, turning it to ashes. Another one readied an attack behind her, but she ducked underneath, leading into a jump.

"Flame kick!" She yelled as she slammed her foot into the skeleton in the air, sending it flying into the wall and knocking it out.

Finn just finished plunging his sword into another skeleton when he heard FP call his attention.

"Finn, coming at ya!" FP yelled as she twirled a poor skeleton round and round.

Finn readied his sword as FP launched it straight at him. The skeleton shielded itself with his arms, but it was no use as Finn cut it completely in half down the middle and its remains dissolved.

"Math! Woah-" Finn dodged another strike, it was from the skeleton he punched earlier.

"You're gonna pay for that mortal!" It yelled.

"Sorry I'm..." Finn leaped around it grabbing its head by the underside.

"Broke!"

He then proceeded to slice it off with his sword.

Finn was too busy gawking at his own remark he failed to notice another skeleton barging towards him. Flame Princess dashed over and knocked it off course into a pillar. She stabbed it and it met the same fate as the others, however her sword went passed its body and pierced the pillar as well, weakening it.

Finn had an idea.

"FP, slice the top!"

She quickly realized what he was onto and jumped up to slice through the pillar near the ceiling completely, disconnecting it. Finn was currently dealing with another skeleton, and he quickly tripped it to send it towards the ground. He then through his opponent next to the one FP knocked into the wall earlier.

"Ugh... What the-" The skeleton said as it came to its senses.

"GOB!" Both the skeletons yelled as Finn drop kicked the pillar knocking it over.

It hurdled towards them and they were crushed from the impact, leaving behind the ashes of their remains.

"Alright! That was a nice throw." Finn said.

"Thanks. Nice thinking with the pillar."

Finn then turned his attention to what was left of the skeletons.

"Snap! Look at the loot these guys dropped!"

Finn skipped over to the piles of ashes that were left from the once bone warriors. FP looked around as well.

They dropped various jewelry and artifacts, some of which Finn really didn't know what to do with.

Finn tried on a ring he found and tested to see if it had any magical properties. Sure enough, he turned his hand into a fist and lightning shot out of it.

"Heheh, woahh." He said, but quickly took it off to avoid any accidents.

FP couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. She however found what looked like a sword sheath in one of the ash piles. There was a sword inside evidenced by the hilt sticking out. She carefully grabbed it and brought the sword out while still on the ground, trying not to damage the fabric sheath. FP raised it up so Finn could look at it.

"Check this out."

It looked somewhat generic at first glance. It had a dark grey hilt with a decently sized cross guard and the blade was a shiny silver. Upon further inspection though, it had multiple runes in the blade and there were engravings on the hilt.

There seemed to be a lot of work put into this sword, it must have taken a long time to make.

"Dang, that's a cool sword FP."

"Yeah, but you should take it."

"What? No way. You're the one who found it. You keep it."

"Finn I really don't need it, I can make a sword in seconds."

"You can never have enough swords FP. It's always good to have a backup."

"I don't see _you_ with a backup. Besides, don't you collect these things?"

"Yeah... About that."

FP just now noticed Finn was covering the grass sliver on his arm.

"This thing is kind of a curse. It doesn't like me using other swords. The second I try to pick one up it slices it in two."

"Finn, that's kinda dumb."

"Yeah, but I get it. I think it sees me as it's partner ya know? Using something else is basically saying I don't trust it."

"I guess that makes sense. I still don't think I need this though."

"Think about it FP. What if you get poisoned again? What if something else happens to your powers? To be honest I think you should have gotten one a while ago."

Flame Princess shot Finn a glare at the last part. He gave a nervous chuckle in response.

But FP understood where he was coming from. In the event she couldn't use her powers and was in imminent danger, a _real_ sword would be vital in keeping her and others safe.

"It does look kinda cool..." FP said as she admired the blade.

She took a couple swings with it and Finn watched with integument. She smiled at it and decided there would be no harm in letting it tag along.

"Alright. I'll take it. But..."

She looked down at the now empty sheath.

"How the junk am I supposed to wear that?"

Finn knelled down to look at it. He was surprised to see it had a bunch of runes etched into the leather, but he was even more baffled when he recognized a specific phrase in the cluster of words.

"FP... This is fireproof."

She laughed.

"...What? Don't be ridiculous Finn."

"No really! Here look."

Finn pointed towards the set of symbols he found, and FP leaned over to look.

"These are the same runes that Flambo uses for my flame shield. I recognize them."

FP knelled down to look at it closer. She had actually never seen Flambo cast the shield that many times, mainly because he was the one who greeted outsiders. She was never able to see him do it, save for a couple times.

"Just try picking it up. It's only a sheath anyways."

FP shrugged and reached her hand to touch it. Surprisingly, it was unaffected by the heat.

"Told ya."

Flame Princess continued to marvel at the sheath and how she was able to pick it up. However, something caught her eye, or rather didn't.

"Wait... I still can't wear it anyways!" She asked.

They had failed to realize there was no harness or straps. Flame Princess had figured they were still buried beneath the ash pile, but it was just a sheath by itself and nothing else.

"Well that's lame." Finn said.

Flame Princess pondered for a moment. For some reason she felt the need to sheath it again. When she put the sword inside, she was taken aback when the sheath began to float in the air.

Finn was confused as well.

"Trippy..." He said.

Flame Princess approached it, and was surprised again when the sheath twisted around, and had angled the hilt towards her. The sword slid out a bit on it's own, with about five inches of the blade visible.

"I think it's asking me to accept it..." FP said.

Finn just watched quietly.

She slowly reached her arm up and grabbed the hilt, pulling the sword out once again. The sheath remained stationary for a few seconds, until it began to dissolve.

FP stepped back a bit at the event.

 _This is really weird..._

The sword had remained in tact and continued to float in the air, but the now dissolved sheath was now but minuscule particles, and they began to rush towards FP.

Finn took it as a threat and quickly drew his sword.

"Finn wait!" She said, and Finn stopped.

The particles rushed towards her hand and clustered around one of her fingers, forming a ring. It was orange with red triangle like shapes lining it all around.

Next, the sword began to disappear, but not like the sheath. Instead, it phased from the blade and completely disappeared with no trace, a yellow spark covering it as it went away.

Soon, the sword was completely gone, and FP and Finn were left astonished by the event.

FP however sighed in disappointment.

"That sucks. I mean the ring's cool and all but I would have liked the-"

She stopped herself when she felt something in her hand.

No, there wasn't anything there, it felt like there was, but there just wasn't. She tightened her hand a bit and felt something was not quite right.

"What's up FP?"

"It... Feels like... It's in my hand, but at the same time it's not."

"Uh... What?"

Flame Princess raised an eyebrow. Thinking she figured it out, she grasped what she felt as if it were the sword she found just moments ago.

Sure enough, when she did, she felt the hilt for real, and the sword formed from her hand in the exact manner it disappeared from before.

Finn went wide eyed in amazement.

 _That's the coolest sword I've ever- OUCH!_

Finn felt a prick in his wrist and he realized it was his grass companion. Finn stroked it with his free hand.

 _Nah, you're still the one dude._

"Wow..." FP said in admiration.

"That's awesome!"

"Yeah! It feels so nice. But... How do I put it back?"

FP was astonished to see the sword immediately phase back into nothingness with the sparks falling to the floor.

"...Oh." She said.

"I think it works the same way as my sword. You kinda just need to feel it, ya know?"

"Yeah I get it. I think I'll stick with it for now, might as well get the hang of it while we're down here."

"Sounds good. Onward then!"

And so, they continued through the hazardous crypts and corridors.

Throughout the dungeon they encountered many more traps and monsters, all of which were handled with ease.

The both of them had plenty of dungeon experience from when they were together, and as such the once intimidating challenges they faced became somewhat of a game to them.

And they enjoyed it.

* * *

"Alright, ready to crack this thing open?" Finn asked.

"Let's do it!"

The two friends were now sitting on a hillside.

The sun was setting again, they had been in the dungeon for what seemed like a couple hours. They deserved a much needed break after the exaustion they were faced with.

Eyeing a chest they had found in the final boss room, Finn held up the key they found at the beginning to open it.

He inserted it into the lock, and it clicked and unlatched.

"Alright!" FP said.

Finn opened it with a creak, and the contents it revealed were... Varied.

They had both expected a mountain of gold or something constant at least, but it was an array of items.

The chest was rather big. It was large enough for Finn to fit inside if he hunched over, so it did contain _a lot_ of stuff.

Finn dug through it and pulled out some items first, then motioned for FP to next.

"Crowns... More rings... Hmm. You find anything?" Finn asked.

FP did pull out something Finn wasn't expecting.

It was a glossy black rock, about twice the size of FP's hand.

"I got this?" She said, unsure of herself.

"...Weird. Can I take a look at it?" Finn asked. FP handed the rock to him and continued looking through the chest.

"So, what did you think? Of the dungeon I mean." FP asked as she dug through more of the chest's contents. Everything in it was metal or some kind of other inflammable material, so she didn't really worry about ruining anything.

"Eh, I give it a seven. Chandelier monster was kinda cool but the skeletons brought it down a bit." Finn said as he admired the rock.

"You're such a snob. I thought it was pretty good."

"Yeah... But when you raid dungeons every other week you start to get a bit critical."

FP stopped digging, and she slowly retreated from the chest, sitting on her knees again.

"...Should we have done something else?" She asked.

"No no! I didn't mean it like _that._ This was really fun FP. I had a great time."

"Oh! W-well, I'm glad to hear it."

Little did FP know, Finn was cooking up an idea in his head while he studied the rock. It was pleasingly dark, and the texture was just right.

All that was left was to see how it held up.

Finn drew _part_ of his sword, which surprised FP a bit. It took shape of what looked like a small pike. He aimed it at the rock and struck the backside of his hand with his other, and a chip of the material fell off.

 _Perfect._

"Finn what are you doing?"

"Uh... Just messing around."

"Oh...Kay? What do you plan on doing with that anyways?"

Finn wanted it to be a surprise.

"...I'll give it to PB! Maybe she'll know what it's made of. Could be rare or something."

Finn had planned on that being a lie, but maybe he would stop by to see Bubblegum anyways to have her inspect it. Maybe it really was some kind of valuable resource.

"How is Bonibell?" FP asked.

"PB's pretty much the same scientist and ruler and junk. She's doing fine... Well actually I shouldn't say that. A dragon attacked the kingdom yesterday."

"What? Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah everything's fine. Me and Jake took care of it."

FP was glad to hear he got to spend some time with Jake, however short the time they had was.

She felt urgent to ask Finn another question.

"...Do you think the kingdom is holding up fine?"

"I'm sure it is. I can't tell you how many times she rebuilt her kingdom after a disaster like that."

FP felt her attitude sink.

"...Do you think her people are happy?"

"Yeah! They're always happy!"

Flame Princess was now frowning, and Finn had failed to notice as he was digging through his pack making room for the rock.

"... ...Do you think she's a good ruler?"

"Of course I do! She's-"

Finn's heart stopped when he realized what was happening. He quickly turned around to see FP was now shedding lava tears.

"FP no... No I didn't... I mean you shouldn't..."

"Finn?"

She looked up at him. Finn could now see the full extent of her saddened features.

She wasn't sobbing, but rather it looked like she was just really disappointed. She didn't sniffle, or try to wipe her tears away, she just held the same look.

"Do you think I'm a good ruler?"

Finn scooted closer to her on the grass.

"Yes."

But FP didn't take too much note of the answer, and instead looked down again.

"...Don't pity me. Tell me the truth."

"That is the truth FP."

"How can it be? My kingdom is... It's dying. My people are suffering. I don't know what to do... I can't even keep track of my diary."

"Stop. Just stop it."

She did as he said, and remained silent.

"Flame Princess look... I don't know a lot about all this royal biz. I don't know what it's like to rule a kingdom." Finn said. FP remained wordless.

"But I can say without a doubt you are a great ruler. I really mean it."

Flame Princess looked up at him again.

"You're... Not... Just saying that?"

"No. I'm not."

"...Why?"

Finn smiled.

"Because you care."

"...What?"

"You care about your citizens. You know that your people are going through some rough junk right now and you want to fix it.

A good ruler cares about her people, and does whatever is in their power to keep them safe and filled with joy. A good ruler is guilty when things go south, and doesn't run away from the problems. A good ruler still cares for the people, even if they do grow to despise her."

Flame Princess was shocked when Finn raised his hand up to hers, still resting on the ground.

"D-Don't..." She muttered, but Finn put his hand on hers all the same. He didn't react at all from the touch.

"I know you. I know you're all of those things. You're caring, you're smart, and you can push through any obstacle, no matter how big."

"..."

"So no matter how bad things are, no matter how much shit you get for trying your best, don't ever think you're a bad ruler, because I know you're not."

Flame Princess was wide eyed. It was as if any major concerns she had about herself disappeared just like that. All the self hate, all the loathing, it was replaced with a new sense of pride.

 _It's like all my worries just disappear when I'm with you._

"Finn..."

She quickly withdrew her hand from underneath his.

She found it weird she was the one who had retreated, but Finn smiled nonetheless.

"I can't... I can't even..."

FP was now smiling, and the smile soon turned into joyous giggles.

She was so overjoyed she couldn't contain them, meanwhile more tears freely fell from her cheeks.

They were tears of joy.

"Thank you."

"I'm just telling it like it is... Your highness."

"Stop it!" Flame Princess playfully rolled on her back as she continued to laugh. Finn felt happy at the sight.

Flame Princess eventually sighed and laid flat on the grass. Finn kealed over to rest as well. It had been a long day full of action and emotions, and they both needed to rest.

The two looked up at the sky in silence, watching the now pink clouds from the sunset wonder by slowly.

"Finn, let's be friends again." She suddenly said. Finn had frozen up.

"Huh?"

FP sat up and criss-crossed her legs, looking down at the human.

"Let's keep doing this. I don't wanna be distant anymore... Can we keep hanging out?"

"Wh-I... You mean... Wait really?"

Flame Princess giggled from his jumbled response.

"Of course Finn. I like spending time with you, like this. Can we keep being friends?"

Finn had screamed with joy in his mind. He couldn't believe it. The fact she was even willing to bear his presence was a glob-send to him, and now she wanted to keep the friendship they once had. Albeit, they were a couple before, but the fact she wanted to spend more time with him like this overflowed him with joy.

"Y-Yes!. I was all jorked up in the head just leaving you like that... I want to keep being friends too."

"Great! Then uh... You can just come over whenever."

"S-Sure thing! I'll visit and we can do something."

"Nice."

They were both caught in an awkward silence after that. They pretty much cleared up everything, there wasn't much more to say.

"I should really get back. BMO's probably worried."

"Oh, okay. Then... I'll see ya... Then..."

"Yeah, I'll... catch ya later..."

Finn grabbed some more spare loot from the chest and stuffed it into his pack, then began his walk back to the tree house. FP prepared to take off back to the fire kingdom.

"FP wait."

"Huh?"

Finn gave her a thumbs up as she turned around.

"It'll all work out, don't worry."

Instead of saying anything, she simply gave him a smile and waved.

Then she shot off like a rocket towards her destination. Finn began walking backwards still facing her direction, watching in awe until she disappeared. Then, he turned around, making his way towards the tree house.

* * *

 **7500 words? Yes.**

 **Am I tired? Lmao.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know of any spelling mistakes or contrivances. I tend to forget about things a lot.**


	7. Chapter 7

The sun had disappeared. Night befell the land of Ooo.

As Finn approached the treehouse, he began to hear music coming from inside. The window was open, so that explained why the noise was so prevalent.

 _Huh. What are those two doing in there?_

"BMO Neptr?" Finn yelled as he shut the door behind him.

Instead of words, he was met with the rustling of the floorboards above him. He could hear footsteps for a few seconds, but it quickly subsided. Finn closed his eyes and listened for anymore sounds.

"BMO CH-"

"Gotcha!"

Finn caught the robot in mid air as it attempted to karate chop Finn from above.

"Awe man. I thought I would get you this time." BMO said with disappointment.

"Not a chance bro." Finn responded, and proceeded to set BMO back on the floor.

"How did things go with Flame Princess?"

"Oh yeah, it w- hey how did you know about that!?"

"Uhhhhh..."

"BMO? What's goin' on down there?"

Finn recognized the voice coming from upstairs and grunted. He leaned down to BMO, who now had a nervous look on his face.

"How long has she been here?"

"She came over last night. She also told us about the biz with FP-"

"OH NO SHE DIDN'T!"

At that, Finn made a full on sprint upstairs.

"Finn wait for me!" BMO said, tagging along behind him.

* * *

When he reached the living room, he was met with the blasting music Marcy was playing on his dad's record player. It was a rock album he'd completely forgot about, either that or she just brought her own.

Marcy was jamming out on her base along to the music, but she dropped dead (Ha) when she realized Finn's presence.

"Creator!" Neptr said, taking notice of Finn entering the room.

"Finn! You're back!" Marcy yelled, trying to overpower the sound of the music.

"Yeah I'm back! What the heck are you doing here? And- Oh for the love of-"

Finn walked over to the turntable and raised the needle, immediately cutting off the sound.

"As I was saying..."

"I was just watching over your house. I payed a visit last night to check up on you but you weren't here."

"We let her stay the night!" BMO inturrupted.

"Yes. She made good company." Neptr added.

"Ugh... I don't care, I can't believe you told BMO about the-"

"I didn't!" Marceline quickly put a finger to her mouth, and Finn quickly dismissed the rest of his sentence.

Finn dropped his arms, which were previously raised in anger.

"You... Didn't?"

"I just said you were going to see FP. I didn't tell them about _that._ "

"Oh."

"Creator? What is the vampie lady talking about?"

"Yeah Finn? Can you tell us?" The two robots asked. Finn nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry guys, it's a secret."

They collectively sighed in disappointment, meanwhile Finn turned to face Marcy again.

"Sorry Marcy."

"Pfff, you know you can trust me Finn."

Marcy set her ax base down, leaning it against the wall. Finn made his way to the couch and sat down with a thud, giving a huge sigh of relief.

"Boy I missed this thing."

"So how did everything go?" Marcy asked, floating over next to him.

"Why don't we talk about it over dinner?" BMO asked. Finn's head perked up immediately.

He was starving. He only had two minor meals within the past couple days. A small lunch he had yesterday, and a quick snack before he bathed himself this morning. He was basically running on fumes at this point.

"YES!" Finn yelled.

* * *

"And that was that."

Everyone eyed the human with interest around the table.

He had just finished his tale about his experience with his ex as they ate dinner, obviously leaving out the deats about her 'stolen item' with BMO and Neptr present. He became a bit uncomfortable from the silence until Marceline broke it.

"Then what?" She asked.

"Well... She told me she wanted to keep being friends... We agreed we would try to stay closer from now on."

Marceline sucked some more red out of another apple she had on her plate.

"Nice job man. Maybe you have another chance after all."

Finn furrowed his brows as he looked down at his empty plate, scraping his fork across the remaining slivers of spagghetti sauce he had left.

"I wouldn't say that."

Marceline chucked the now dried apple at his head and it bounced off. Finn didn't really react.

"Just because you two broke up doesn't mean you can't try again." BMO said.

"But things are different now. She's trying to maintain a kingdom, and I don't wanna stress her out even more."

"I dunno. I think a time will come when you two can be together again." Marceline said.

Finn looked up at her with a look of doubt.

"That's stretching it a bit don't you think?"

" _Maybe,_ but don't lose hope dude."

"Yes creator! I believe the vampire lady!"

"Yeah Finn, don't give up on her." BMO concluded.

He smiled. He didn't expect this kind of support relating to his love life from them.

Deep down he knew he wanted to be with her again, but given the circumstances laid out before them, it was basically impossible right now.

But maybe, just maybe, when all of this cleared up he could tell her again how he felt.

That moment just wasn't within reach at the moment, but he was willing to wait.

"Thanks guys..." Finn said, letting out a yawn.

"But I'll have to think about it some other time... I am pooped."

He got up from the table and grabbed his plate, but was stopped when BMO snagged it from him.

"I got it Finn. Go rest."

BMO raised his fist up for a fist bump, and Finn returned it.

"Thanks man."

"I should be going too. My flowers are probably thirsty." Marceline said as she flew over to grab her bass.

Instead of using the door down below, she found it easier to let herself out the window.

But before she left, there was one last bit of business she had to take care of.

"Oh Finn! I almost forgot."

"Yeah?"

Marcy grabbed a slip of paper out of her jeans and flew over to hand it to him. Finn unfolded it and looked at what appeared to be a flier.

His eyes glided across the title and he read allowed.

"...Ooo's the Ooo?"

"Yeah! It's a music festival! Bonnie's hosting it at Gravy's Grotto." Finn had read over the location on the flier right as she said that, and he almost dropped it from shock.

"Gravy's Grotto? That old fart actually agreed to let PB use the place?"

"Well, she kinda had to bribe him for it."

"I can see why! That's the coolest place in Ooo!" Finn continued to read through the information.

"Next month? I'll definitely be there."

"Awesome. I was thinking maybe you could take FP along too."

Finn grunted.

"Come on Marcy I already told you-"

"As friends, dumb dumb." Marceline proceeded to flick his forehead with her index finger and he recoiled back. She then proceeded towards the window, giving Finn a wave goodbye.

"Take it easy." She said.

"You too." Finn responded, waving back.

She then disappeared into the darkness of night.

* * *

Finn had made time for a quick shower than hurried over to his bed in his PJs. It wasn't since two nights ago he had the pleasure of sleeping comfortably in his own home, though the hospitality FP provided was very much appreciated.

BMO and Neptr were already fast asleep, or rather turned off, next to his bed.

Before he got comfortable in his domain however, he grabbed his pack and rummaged through it real quick, pulling out the black marble rock he and FP found in the dungeon chest. He decided to at least start on some progress before he went to bed.

Finn began chipping away at it with his grass pike tip. Once he thought it was enough, he set it on his nightstand and tucked himself into his sleeping bag, falling asleep.

* * *

Flame Princess resided in her office, eyeing the papers in her hands with a stern look.

This was it.

CB stood next her and read the papers she held, and he looked back at her.

"What do you think?" He asked. She nodded in reply.

"I understand now..."

FP flipped another paper over the current one she was holding, and continued to look it over.

"I get why it wasn't working before. Rules, too many of them. It's almost like they had no control over their emotions. I didn't put enough faith in them at all."

CB listened carefully.

"These new laws will rely heavily on their own free will and have a common ground for morality. I only hope they will be able to differentiate the rights and wrongs."

"I'm sure that they will." CB said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

FP yawned, reaching her arms high up to stretch. After rubbing her eye a bit, she got up from her chair.

"I'm exausted." She said, and proceeded towards the exit of her office. CB followed close behind.

"So how did things go with Finn?" FP smiled, and to CB's surprise, she began to skip down the hallway, her hands held behind her back.

"It was great. We talked a lot and killed stuff." She said, as she playfully turned around to face the pastry. He couldn't help but smile, as it would seem Finn had a positive affect on her attitude.

"That's good. I'm glad you got away from the kingdom for a while, with all the commotion."

"We'll see how the new order plays out, I can only hope there won't _be_ any more commotion."

"Don't worry princess, It'll work."

FP stopped at her bedroom door and proceeded inside, leaving the door open a bit to say goodbye to her sugary friend.

"Goodnight CB."

"Goodnight."

Shutting the door behind her, FP began to get ready for bed, taking a shower and putting on her night gown.

Laying in bed, she recalled the events of today in her mind.

She greatly enjoyed her time together with Finn. The whole experience brought her back to more innocent times when she was a free spirit... And her relationship with Finn.

She felt her face heat up recalling those times, and it made her think... The future was prominant in her head.

 _Do I really just want to be friends?_

 _Have I been denying it this whole time?_

 _...No._

As she lay on her back burried in her covers, she lifted her hand up to her heart again, feeling it pulse rapidly.

 _I want to see him again..._ She thought.

 _...I really want to..._

The memories from today began to mix in with the old ones, creating a flury of flashbacks.

It was time to come to terms with it all. It was time to recognize what these feelings mean. Flame Princess mustered up a confession in her head, and even though it was completely and utterly hidden from any outside sources, it still made her nervous to mutter the phrase in her mind.

 _...But do you still love me?_

* * *

 **PLEASE READ THE NOTE**

 **Okay. So here's the thing.**

 **I actually didn't watch any of season 10 before I started writing this. Having just finished the finale, some new ideas kind of crept up in my head and I was beginning to lose interest in this story. I was contemplating on starting a different one entirely and just dropping this one, which is why I haven't uploaded in a while.**

 **But no. Before, I really didn't have any idea of where this story was going to go. Its purpose was just to generate some cute interactions between FP and Finn because, well, I ship them _hard._ (And I'm still writing it for that reason lol)**

 **Now having just finished the show, I want this to go somewhere. I am going to try and make a plot out of this, but I am unsure if I am going to fall into the 'unfinished' fate that a lot of fanfictions have met. Please don't 100% expect a finished story, because I may eventually grow out of it, or there's the _slight_ chance I'll get hooked on something else.**

 **This story is going to go in a whole new** **direction starting in a few chapters. I may also tweak some previous ones a bit to be more believable (nothing plot wise though).**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been but three days since Flame Princess and Finn's reunion, and the human was currently on his way to her kingdom.

Yesterday he received a letter about a public meeting of sorts she wanted him to attend. He had no idea what it was about, but he decided he'd find out eventually.

Currently he was looking for the Flambit that would allow him access into the kingdom, or rather keep him from getting completely fried from it's severe conditions.

"Flambo!? You here buddy?" Finn called.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" Flambo said, dropping down from a rock.

"Oh, there you are."

"Lookin' for a flame shield?"

"Yeah, and I brought payment this time." Finn said, as he reached into his pack, pulling out a chunk of charcoal. Flambo's tail wagged as his eyes fixed on the food.

He held his mouth open to catch it, but found nothing fly into his mouth. He closed it when he noticed Finn was holding it in his hand ready to flick it, but had the other resting on his hip.

"You didn't break our promise right?"

Flambo smiled confidently, and brought a hand to his head to solute.

"Of course. Not a word."

Flambo had to react fast at the charcoal flying at him, but caught it in his mouth nevertheless. He made a 'mmmm' sound as he savored the taste.

Next, he muttered the ancient language, runes escaping from his mouth, and then continued to send a wad of saliva onto Finn's forehead.

His body turned blue instantly, and Finn clenched his fists together to get a feel for it.

"Oh! The Princess is addressing the kingdom in a bit, yous better hurry."

"Yeah I know. See ya around Flambo." Finn said, then continued to run off towards the kingdom gates. Flambo waved at his leave.

* * *

As he approached the gates, he was met with the two same fire guards from before. Either that or the armor was just indistinguishable.

"Finn the Human."

"Are you here to visit the princess?" They both asked.

"Yeah. Do I have permission to enter?"

"Yes. She has an announcement she will be making shortly," One of them said.

"So we suggest you move it." The other finished.

The gates opened and he rushed inside, and was met with empty streets and pathways. Though, when he continued deeper in the kingdom, he began to see some fire folk, walking in the direction of the palace.

Unfortunately, he was met with the same crude atmosphere of the kingdom a few days prior. He had hoped that maybe this 'announcement' she was cooking up had something to do with the kingdom's state. He couldn't really bear this kind of negativity, and he wondered how FP could even handle it on a daily basis.

 _I guess that just attributes to how strong you are._ He thought.

The majority of the fire citizens were crowded around the palace itself, leaving enough room to have a clear view of the royal balcony. Finn didn't really know what to do besides stand and wait. She was supposed to arrive at one o' clock.

Finn pulled out his pocket watch to check what time it was.

 _12:56_

As expected after four minutes, right on time, she emerged on the balcony, dawning her royal fire armor. It wasn't really a look he was used to, but she still looked beautiful nonetheless. Her presence immediately silenced any and all conversations that were happening below.

She cleared her throat and was about to speak, but stopped herself when she saw Finn, standing in the crowd. It wasn't hard to spot him at all, considering he was literally a blue dot amidst her naturally warm colored citizens.

Finn noticed her gaze reach upon him, and he simply gave a thumbs up.

He couldn't really make out her facial features from this distance, but FP had smiled at the gesture, and it made her somewhat more confident.

She spoke loud and clear, for all of the kingdom to hear.

"People of the Fire Kingdom." She started.

"I have a lot of things to say, and a lot of things to address...

But for now, I want to start this gathering with something I have been meaning to tell you all for a long time..."

The crowd awaited in silence.

"I apologize for my actions."

The statement caused the fire people to look at each other back and fourth. Finn could hear some of them mutter, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"When I took over the rule of the kingdom from my father, I wanted to bring about a new generation of peace, prosperity, and above all else, truth."

 _"Look where that got us."_ Finn could hear one of the fire people say. He looked back at him with daggers, and the intimidated citizen quickly retreated deeper into the crowd. Finn turned his attention back to his friend.

"I realize now that my methods of accomplishing this goal were out of line and at the expense of all of you, my people..."

Flame Princess took a deep breath.

"My laws were premature and did not resonate with the nature of the kingdom, and for that, I take full responsibility.

But I want to keep trying. I want our existence to be one that other kingdoms will no longer fear, hate, or despise. I don't want us to be thought of as hateful, malicious monsters."

 _"Hey she's going somewhere with this."_

 _"I like it."_

Finn began to make out some positivity within the crowd. When he turned back to face the balcony, he saw Flame Princess turned to look at him again. He gave a thumbs up like before, this time shaking his hand rapidly to show she was making progress.

 _Keep going FP you're doing great!_

"I didn't put enough trust in any of you when I tried to change the kingdom... You all abided by a rule that should have been terminated long ago.

Now, we shall bring about a new era of truth. Not in the hands of the government. Not in the hands of me... But in the hands of you, the people!"

Cheers and clapping could be heard throughout the crowd, and FP was overjoyed at the response. While she did enjoy relishing in the applause, she had to silence it still.

Waving her arms, the crowd dismissed their reactions, and let their ruler continue.

FP brought up the papers she had worked on three days prior and held them high, for all the kingdom to see.

"These are the new laws that I plan to bring into affect. Lying will no longer be punishable as a crime, but will instead be kept in check by your emotions. I trust that each and every one of you will be able to find the common ground between honesty and dishonesty. It is up to you now to make the choices."

She brought the paper down.

"Now onto other pressing matters... We are approaching the winter season very soon as I am sure most of you are aware. Our lava supplies will continue to shrink as it gets colder, so make sure to stock up on whatever food or materials you need. Please remember to be safe.

This meeting is now dismissed. Thank you for your attendance."

Before Flame Princess could leave however, she was met with another barrage of claps and cheers from her people, including Finn, who was now jumping up and down and pumping his fists with joy.

* * *

"So what did you think?" FP asked.

"Flame Princess that was amazing! I really think it resonated with everyone."

Finn was currently strolling through the courtyard again along with FP. Her armor was now gone, and was replaced with the same summer dress she was wearing when Finn saw her here before. She wasn't barefoot anymore however.

After her little speech, she found some free time to spend with Finn. It wasn't her day off, but a break was very much welcomed.

"That's good. I hope this all works out." FP said.

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"Yeah, you're right. But I wish I didn't have to wear that dumb armor every time I talk to them."

"Then... Why do you keep doing it? You're the ruler after all right?"

"Ugh, family tradition. It's supposed to show 'authority' or some junk, but all it does is make me look fat."

Finn snickered.

"What?"

"I don't think that at all. You look awesome no matter what you wear."

Finn's cheeks turned red at that remark, he didn't really expect to say that, it just came out. Flame Princess felt her face flush a bit from embarrassment as well, but she greatly appreciated the compliment.

"Thanks Finn."

"Yeah, no prob."

They continued to walk, and Finn found himself always amazed at the sights the courtyard offered. It was really like no place else in the Fire Kingdom.

It wasn't till long that something caught his eye. A statue.

"Woah. Is that your mom?"

FP nodded.

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess. She looks a lot like you."

FP walked up to the statue and admired it as Finn did.

"My father didn't deserve her. She was so kind and faithful... I wish I could have spent more time with her."

Flame Princess walked over to a nearby fire flower and plucked it, then set it at the statue's feet. It wasn't actually her grave, but she found it to be a respectful act.

"I bet she's really proud of you." Finn said.

"You think so?"

"Yup."

Flame Princess cheerfully giggled and jumped up from her knelled position. She continued on through the garden, and Finn followed.

They had approached a rock bridge leading over the lava river, and Finn proceeded to lean over the edge. The boiling liquid below didn't really shake him as much as before. FP did so next to him, and they watched the lava flow downstream.

"So... Do you know anything about... _The guy?_ "

Flame Princess sighed in response.

"No. I actually had some investigators search the room, but nothing turned up. I was careful."

"And there haven't been anymore problems?"

"Not that I know of."

Flame Princess turned to her right to look at Finn, and noticed his hands were clenched rather tight against the bridge wall.

"...Finn? Are you okay?"

He relinquished his grip and nodded his head.

"It's just... I've been thinking about it, a lot. The thought of some creep sneaking around your room doesn't sit well with me."

Flame Princess lifted up her hand and put on his shoulder, causing him to look back at her.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

She relinquished her hand and set it back on the bridge, looking back at the lava flow.

"I _would_ like to beat some sense into that jerkwad..." FP said.

"Ditto." Finn responded bluntly.

"...But there's nothing to go off of. Not even a print."

Finn's head perked up.

"FP! That ding dong _touched_ your diary!"

Flame Princess looked blankly at Finn's assumption.

"It's fabric dude." She said, and he sighed in frustration.

"Right..." Finn said as he rubbed his temples.

"They'd have to be pretty clumsy to have left it out in the woods like that." FP said.

"Not to mention nosy, snooping around your stuff in the first place." He replied.

"And perverted! I can't imagine what kind of sick thoughts were going through his mind when he stole it."

"Maybe this guy's got an obsession with you?" Finn joked. Flame Princess shuttered at the thought.

"I don't even want to imagine."

"Or maybe stealing is just his thing? Who knows? He could have stolen some... Other... Stuff..."

 _Wait a minute._

"Wait a minute!"

FP recoiled back as Finn shouted suddenly. He stepped back from the bridge wall and his eyes darted around rapidly, his mind trying to put together a possible conclusion.

"What is it?" FP asked.

"Clumsy...

Nosy...

Obsessive...

Perverted...

Thief..."

Finn said allowed, as he counted on his fingers. Flame Princess tilted her head, trying to make sense of his trying to make sense.

"Finn, what are you getting at?"

"...I think I should have known from the beginning."

It clicked... For both of them, at that very moment.

They looked up at each other in confirmation. Flame Princess really was confused at how she let such a possibility slip past her.

"DUH!" Flame Princess yelled, flinging her arms in the air.

"Wanna pay a visit to the ice kingdom?"

She punched her fist into an open palm, a look of anger forming on her face.

 **"With pleasure."**

* * *

FP and Finn were currently riding Jake Two towards their destination. She had broke the news to CB they could have possibly found the culprit, and he let them go (Not that he had the power to stop them.) without question.

Visiting the Ice Kingdom with FP brought back the memories of that faithful day. Even after she forgave him, his arrogance back then still made him mentally kick himself. It wasn't until one year later the kingdom was rebuilt to its former glory, and the Ice King moved back in.

"Man, I missed you Jake Two." Finn said, petting the fire hound's head. He replied with a bark, and FP smiled at the gesture.

But getting back to more serious matters...

"It makes so much sense. The dude can fly, and he's immune to the heat." FP said.

"I _really_ hope we're right about this. Otherwise, we're still gonna be in the dark." Finn replied.

"We're about to find out." Flame Princess said as they landed in IK's window.

The place was empty, Gunter wasn't even present. Though, all of Ice King's posessions still remained. It really amazed Finn how many hobbies he had, with all the workout gear, his drum kit, and his rebuilt ninja collection.

"Ice King! Show yourself!" Finn yelled.

Shuffling could be heard through one of the doorways, and soon enough a voice was heard.

"Finn!? Is that you broham?"

Flame Princess raised an eyebrow.

"Broham?" She whispered over to him. Finn rolled his eyes at both of their responses.

"Yes! Get out here." Finn said bluntly.

Eventually, the Ice King emerged from where Finn assumed to be his bedroom. He was in his usual attire, giant blue cloak and wearing his golden crown.

"Hey what's- oh."

IK was cut off mid sentence taking notice of FP, arms crossed.

 **"Hi Ice King."** She said with a very harsh undertone.

IK tilted his head at the picture, and eventually flew his arms up in the air with his mouth agape.

"You two got back together!?"

His assumption immediately caused the two to blush.

"N-No!... That's... Ugh! Shut up! We're here to make you answer for your crimes!" Flame Princess yelled.

Ice king furrowed his brows.

"I mean I know I've, like, kidnapped princesses for basically half my life... But you're a bit late don't you think?"

"No! Not that junk! We know what you stole!" Finn yelled louder, raising a fist in anger.

"What? I didn't steal anything. Well, except from Gunter. I _may_ have borrowed his tooth brush without asking, but I didn't know he was in kahoots with you two."

Finn and FP looked at each other. It was clear from their expressions they were beginning to doubt each other's confidence.

"So... No book?" Finn asked.

"What? Oh! Are you wondering about my Fanfiction!?" IK asked cheerily. Finn sighed, and leaned over to FP, raising a hand to cover the side of his mouth.

"I don't think he took it. Looks like the donkus is still on the loose."

Flame Princess sighed but nevertheless nodded to Finn. He then turned towards IK, rubbing his hand across the back of his head.

"Sorry Ice King. Looks like we got the wrong guy."

"Oh... So you don't want to read my next chapter of Fiona and-"

"Nonono! We really need to go now!"

"Oh I see. Well take care you two. Stop by anytime you wanna-"

Ice King's sentence was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the floor. Finn and FP took notice beforehand, as the thud that occurred was that of a book which fell out of his beard.

It was a dark shade of purple with a trio of pink circles lining the center of the cover. Ice King quickly picked it up and stuffed it back inside his beard. Flame Princess didn't make much of it, but when she turned to look at Finn, she noticed he had frozen up completely.

"Ice King?" He asked.

"...Yeah?"

"What are you doing with PB's diary?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"W-what? This old thing? This isn't-"

Three more books proceeded to fall out of his beard onto the floor. Finn and Flame Princess looked down at them, then at the IK, then back at the books, then back at the wizard.

They had to do a couple takes before they realized what was going on.

"ICE KINGGG!" FP yelled, quickly shooting a wad of fire not at the wizard, but towards his crown, knocking it off and grazing his head.

The shock from the attack caused IK to fall to the ground. He quickly tried to reach for his crown but Finn knocked it away from him and drew his sword, aiming it at him.

"What's the meaning of this!?" Finn furiously asked.

"You'd better spill the beans or I'll spill your guts!" FP yelled, igniting her fire sword.

"Woah woah okay I'll tell you!" IK said.

"I was kinda sick of the princesses hiding their feelings for me, so I decided to find out myself. So it turns out none of them love me! Like, at all! Can you believe that?"

Finn pinched his nose.

"Dude, you're hopeless." Finn said.

"Oh whatever. I got a kick out of FP's though. It was really getting good when I just _had_ to drop it. I swear I looked for like three hours but couldn't find the darned thing."

Flame Princess snapped, and before she could process what she was doing her arms gripped Ice King by the collar, pinning him against the wall.

 **"How much did you read old man?"**

Finn was a bit startled by her reaction, but it served IK right for doing something so selfish.

"I-If I told you I read only half of it... Would y-you-" IK said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

 **"WRARHHHHHHHH!"**

Flame Princess was now shifted into pure fire, and she rose her sword up aiming for IK's neck.

"FP wait!"

"I'm bringing justice to this jerk wad!"

"Then don't do it like this!"

Flame Princess slowly shrunk in size as she shifted back into her 'human' form, still holding the sword to his neck.

"Why are you so intent on keeping him alive?"

"Because! He's... Well, he's messed up in the head. It's not his fault."

"You're defending him!?"

"No no! But this isn't the way to go about it."

 **"Then how would** _ **you**_ **go about it!? Huh!?"** Flame Princess yelled vicously, turning to face Finn with a terrifying expression.

It took her a while to realize what she was doing. Finn was beginning to back away from her with caution, and as he did so Flame Princess calmed down again.

"Finn... I didn't mean to..."

 _What am I doing?_

She looked back at the ice king. Her sword was now touching his neck, enough to leave a small cut and searing his skin upon contact.

She relinquished the pressure a bit and held him steady.

"No, FP, I get it. I really do, but killing him won't solve anything. Believe it or not, there are people who still care about him."

"Hey!" IK yelled, breaking his train of silence.

Flame Princess looked back at Finn, then back at IK.

"It's a result of that dumb crown. Let's just destroy his ninja collection or something and be done with it."

Ice King gasped at Finn's threat, and FP sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

FP proceeded to punch IK to the ground and he landed with a thud. She looked down at the defeated wizard.

"Get the rest of the books. You're going to tell us who they belong to and we are going to take them back. Every second you're gone is one second closer I get to destroying your stupid collectibles."

Ice king would have fought back, but Finn was currently guarding his crown.

"Y-yes ma'm!"

The wizard quickly scurried to his room to grab the rest of the books, leaving the two in silence.

Once he returned, he set the books on the floor and listed their owners, which Finn wrote on his arm to remember.

"This is all of them?" Finn asked.

"Yes I swear!" IK pleaded. Flame Princess stepped closer to him, and it caused him to back away.

"I'll know it was you if I ever hear a word about this. And if it comes to that..."

Flame Princess's hand emitted sparks and small explosions, and IK was clearly intimidated.

"I promise!" He said, pleading for mercy.

"Good. Finn?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Let's get outta here."

* * *

The rest of their day was spent riding Jake Two to the various kingdoms in an attempt to return the Princess's stolen diaries. Not all of them kept one, but the number that didn't was few.

They took the liberty of wrapping them up in packaging along with a note attached, reading:

 _We found this. Keep it safe._

 _-Friends_

They did have to sneak into their rooms to deliver them, preventing any outsiders curious enough to explore what was inside.

They had just dropped off PB's diary and were now on their way back to the Fire Kingdom. Finn's flame shield had long since worn off, and he had to space himself a bit from Flame Princess as they rode.

It wasn't until now she felt the need to ask Finn something that was irking her ever since they interrogated Ice King.

"Hey." She said.

"What's up?" Finn responded.

"...How did you know that was Bonibell's diary?"

Finn didn't respond initially.

"I mean... It looked like any other old book..." She added.

Finn sighed. He wasn't really sure about discussing this with her, but she deserved to know after everything that's happened, in the past and the present.

"Remember the girl I told you about? Who I took the wad of hair from?"

It didn't take FP long to realize who it was considering the subject matter.

"It was Bonibell?"

"Yes."

She couldn't make out his expression with their mounted positions on the fire hound. He was in front and refused to turn around.

"...What does that have to do with it?"

Finn looked up towards the sky as he remembered his experiences with a not-so-long lasting relationship.

"Years ago, PB was caught up in an accident. She lost a big chunk of her gum mass... And it ran back her age."

FP put a hand to her mouth in astonishment.

"We got closer when she was like that... Really close.

We hung out a lot. Occasionally we did some science experiments together, and she kept all of the equations and junk in her diary."

Flame Princess realized that maybe she had stepped into some very sensitive territory, and had regretted asking Finn the question in the first place.

"...I'm sorry I asked."

"It's fine... I'm over it now. I appreciate having her as a friend."

At that, Finn turned around to look at her.

"And I appreciate having you as a friend too."

"...Me?"

"Yeah. Thanks for... Well... Not hating me I guess. Heh."

"Finn of course. I could never hate-"

She thought about what he did at that very moment, when he manipulated her.

Cursing herself, she had to face the truth that she did resent him. She thought they had built something unbreakable, and he betrayed their trust, but it wasn't anger so much as it was sadness and disappointment.

"You don't have to lie. What I did was messed up."

"Enough of that! Please..."

Finn looked forward, relishing in his own regret.

"No. You look at me."

The human did as she asked, and turned around again.

"We don't have to dwell on the past anymore. I'm your friend, and nothing is going to change that."

Finn smiled, then faced forward once more.

"Thanks for that."

"Anytime."

"Hey it's my house!" Finn said suddenly, knocking FP out of her daze. They were nearing his home on their way back to the kingdom.

"It's getting late... Why don't you just drop me off?" He suggested.

"Sure thing." She stuttered.

Once they landed, Finn and FP dismounted Jake Two. The human gave him a couple pats on the head, and the hound tried to lick him in response. He had to back away to prevent getting his face melted from lava drool, and the dog whimpered afterwards acknowledging Finn had to leave.

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon kay buddy?"

Jake Two barked in response. Finn then looked up at FP, who was busy admiring their interactions.

"Sorry FP. I'd like to hang out more after all the commotion today."

"No it's fine, I understand."

They looked awkwardly around thinking of what to say next.

 _Moron. Just ask her._

They both simply stood in silence.

 _It's not a date. It's not a date._

"F-Flame Princess?"

"Oh! Yes?"

"So... There's this music festival coming up in a couple weeks. Have you heard of it?"

"No I don't believe I have."

"Here, let me show you." Finn pulled out the flier Marceline gave him from his pocket and held it up for FP to see. He didn't give it to her, rather just held it unfolded in his hands to prevent her from burning it.

"...Ooo's the Ooo?"

"Yeah. There's gonna be food, games... And a lot of noise. Heheh."

FP giggled at Finn's joke.

"It does look like fun."

"I was wondering if you'd... Like to go with me?"

Flame Princess blushed. She cursed to herself that Finn kept managing to pull these reactions out of her.

"...You mean like a date?" She asked, looking up at him.

"W-What!? No! I didn't mean it like..."

Finn took a deep breath, composing himself.

"I don't want it to seem like I'm asking you out. I just wanna go as friends, honest."

Flame Princess admittedly felt a bit disappointed at that.

"No, excuse me for assuming. Finn, I would love to go with you."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Finn wanted to jump up with joy right then and there, but kept himself in check.

"Alright! Then uh, see ya then, I guess."

"Yeah... You too."

Finn began the short walk to his treehouse. Opening the door, he turned around to give FP one last wave before she took off.

"I'll be over on Sunday!"

"Cool! I'll be waiting!" She said as she took off on Jake Two.

It took her a while to register what she had just said.

 _...I'll be waiting?_

 _...She'll be waiting?_

 _...Why did I say that!?_

 _...Did I hear her right!?_

* * *

As he lie in his bed, Finn continued to carve out the stone rock he found in the dungeon chest. It was now beginning to take shape of a human figure.

BMO, who Finn thought was asleep, jumped up onto his bed.

"Woah! BMO you scared me."

"Sorry. I was wondering what you were doing up."

The game console eyed what Finn had in his hands with curiosity.

"What's that?" BMO asked as another chip of the stone fell off.

"It's a present for FP."

"Oooooo."

Finn handed the rock to BMO for him to inspect. He carefully knocked on it and felt the texture.

"What's it made of?" He asked, causing Finn to shrug.

"Dunno. It looks cool though."

Finn figured he had made enough progress for the night. BMO handed the project back to him and he set it back on his nightstand.

"Are you going to Ooo's the Ooo with her?"

Finn smiled.

"Yeah."

"You should totally confess to her!"

His smile quickly diminished as he let out a gasp.

"N-No dude! That's not what this is!"

"Come on Finn! You could give her the present then tell her! Sitting under the moonlight with music in the distance... Fireflies roaming in the air... Wouldn't it be romantic?"

Finn thought about the situation playing out in his head as BMO explained. His face gave the console a snicker, which caused Finn to quickly shake it off.

"I think you're overplaying it a bit BMO."

"I'm just messing with you."

Finn snuggled into his sleeping bag and blew out the candle, BMO's screen now being the only source of light in the room.

 _That does sound really nice..._ He thought to himself.

"...I think I'll know when the time is right to tell her. Maybe it'll be the festival, maybe it'll be a couple years."

"Just don't make that dumb face when you do." BMO joked.

"Whatevers. Night BMO."

"Night Finn."

The console proceeded to jump off Finn's bed and plug himself into the wall, and Finn soon fell fast asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

The time came for Flame Princess and Finn's scheduled reunion, and she was cheery as always. Having nothing to do until he got there, she wandered around the palace greeting and making causal conversation with her citizens.

It was something she wanted to do more often. She didn't want to seem like she was above them, it didn't feel right at all to her. Treating them as if she was a normal fire elemental made her feel like a bigger part of the kingdom than a princess ever could.

Wearing her casual clothing helped as well, as it seemed to give off a less intimidating appearance. Although it was 'family tradition', being her day off was enough of an excuse not to wear it. She was doing most of her mingling in the throne room, which unfortunately contained the two eternal prisoners she kept in the lamp hanging above. Luckily, they didn't have much to say, and remained quiet.

"Thank you for your support Lethina. Please have a safe winter."

"Yes, of course your majesty." The fire woman said, bowing her head and making her way out of the entrance.

It had been but a couple days since she made her announcement, and her people are already giving off a brighter attitude. That, along with the resolved mystery of her diary's appearance took the once overbearing stress off of her shoulders.

"Having fun?" CB asked. FP was a bit startled by his sudden intrusion.

"Yes! It feels great to talk with my people."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better. I was really worried about you."

"Yeah, I haven't felt this relieved since... Since..." As FP trailed off, CB sighed.

"A long time it seems." He said.

"Yes. A very long time."

"So what are you gonna do on your date?"

FP flinched at CB's phrasing of the question.

"C-Cinnamon Bun! Again with this? We're just friends! FRIENDS!"

At that, CB laughed hysterically from her embarrassed expression, all the while the human brought into question had entered the throne room. Flame Princess quickly brushed her hair over her face to hide the blush that was ever so present on her cheeks. His entrance attracted attention as always, his color standing out from the surrounding environment.

"Uh, yo." He said casually.

"F-Finn you're here!" She said nervously, which generated a smirk from CB. FP elbowed him in response.

"Hi FP, sorry I took so long."

Initially she was happy for his arrival, but Flame Princess gasped when upon further inspection, she noticed he had a bandage on his cheek. His clothes were ruffled as well, making it look like he endured a minor thrashing.

"Are you okay!?" FP urgently asked.

"Yeah I'm fine-" Finn quickly clutched his cheek as he experienced a pulse of pain. Flame Princess ran up to him and closely inspected his face.

"What happened?" FP asked urgently.

"That's quite the shiner you got there Finn." CB added, approaching him as well.

"Uh... Well, you see..." Finn trailed off, rubbing his head. The tone and his posture made FP a bit on edge.

"...I fell down the stairs."

"...Eh?" CB and FP both said in unison.

"...What?" FP asked.

"Yeah. It was... A lot of stairs."

FP and CB both looked at each other with puzzled looks. It was obvious they were a bit suspicious if Finn. She then turned her attention back to his injury, CB doing so as well. Finn responded with a confident thumbs up.

"Really, it's fine."

Flame Princess stepped back a bit and sighed.

"If you say so." She said, albeit still a bit worried about his condition.

"Come on, let's go do something." Finn suggested.

"Wait a moment." CB interrupted. Finn and FP both held their attention on the pastry.

"Your highness, I need to have a word with Finn, in private. Just a couple minutes."

They both faced each other with a worried look, but Finn nevertheless accepted his request and followed him out of the room into the hallway.

"I'll be right back." He said, earning a nod from FP, and the door shut behind them.

The two were now alone, the crackling of the torches being the only source of sound, echoing through the hallway.

"What's up Ceeberino?" Finn asked.

"...Ceeberino? Did you just make a nickname out of a nickname?" CB laughed a bit at Finn's humor.

"Heh, yeah. What's going on?" Finn asked.

"So... Listen. I need to talk to you about something really important." The pastry started. Finn remained attentive.

"What is it?"

CB paused for a moment, but continued.

"This may seem kind of sudden but...You know I care about the princess a lot right?" CB asked. Finn silently nodded.

"And I know you care about her a lot too." CB added. Finn blushed a bit at the remark, but it was an obvious truth.

"...Yes?" Finn replied.

"Well... Thing is, I'm getting old Finn. This old sweet roll doesn't have a lot left in him anymore."

It took a while for Finn to process, as he just stood there with a blank face blinking a couple times. CB awaited for him to do so, and he eventually responded.

"...What?" Finn said. The pastry sighed in response.

CB raised a hand and started to lightly tap the rim of his body. It wasn't until long a clump of it fell off. It no longer retained its moist and gooy texture, but rather, was dry and looked decayed.

"No..." Finn said with a hint of denial.

"There's gonna be a time when I'm not around anymore, and the princess is gonna need someone to support her.

Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"CB... Are you... Asking me to take your place?" Finn asked.

"Not necessarily." CB replied, and proceeded to raise a hand up and put it on his shoulder.

"I just want you to promise me, that when the time calls for it, you'll be there for her. You'll protect her, comfort her, and make her happy. Just assure me you'll do that, whatever it takes."

Finn was incredibly taken aback by CB's request, even more so by the acknowledgment of his imminent death.

But he decided to remain strong. Finn moved the pastry's arm off of his shoulder, and he flashed him confident smile.

"I promise. You have my word, I won't let anything happen to her."

"That's what I want to hear."

Finn didn't imagine it would come to this. Now, he regretted more than ever resenting him when he was younger. It was hate he never deserved, especially now.

"I'm assuming FP doesn't know."

"No, she doesn't."

"...And you don't think telling her is a good idea?"

"No. If I am going to depart soon, I don't want her thinking about it until I do."

It made sense. If Finn knew Jake was going to perish in soon due time, he would be depressed, heartbroken, and angry.

He nodded in agreement, however there was still something bugging Finn about this whole situation.

"But... I don't feel like this is right." Finn said. CB tilted his head with puzzlement.

"What do you mean?"

"Here I am hanging out with FP... But you're gonna-... If you don't have a lot of time left, shouldn't you be the one spending time with her?"

CB smiled.

"Don't worry. I spend every day with her, and I couldn't be happier to be her protector...

Now it's your turn."

Finn couldn't find the words. He was honored even, that this now honorable and mature candy person was handing down his responsibilities to him. Finn knew he would always be there for FP regardless, but the fact that CB was treating it as a responsibility, and was passing it on to him, just made him respect the pastry even more.

"CB... Thanks."

"...For what?"

"For being so rad. Thanks for supporting FP all these years and... Thanks for being my friend."

Finn followed by raising his hand up to fist bumb him, not fully confident he would return the offer considering how he was part of royalty.

But he bumped him back.

"Now go to her. Have fun."

Finn nodded confidently, and ran back through the doorway, followed soon after by CB.

Flame Princess was mingling more with her citizens as she waited. Some of them overheard CB's remark about her 'date', and it drew some rather embarassing questions.

She was in the middle of trying to give an explanation when Finn came back, and she quickly ran up and grabbed his hand.

"Comeonlet'sgo!" She yelled, pulling him out of the palace in a matter of seconds before he could hear any of the talk. Flame Princess wasn't exactly sure where they were going, or what they were going to do. She just rushed to get Finn out of there as fast as possible before he could hear any of the citizens asking about their relationship.

CB watched on with happiness as they flew off.

 _Just hurry it up you two._

* * *

They had decided that since the few interactions they had within the past couple weeks were filled with commotion, it was time to settle down for a bit.

Finn directed them towards a spot he knew of. It was a small clearing in the forest, housing a lake with a cliff masking the edge and a waterfall spilling off the top. Apple trees surrounded the area, and forest animals could be heard scurring about. It all made for a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.

FP was laying on the ground taking in the sounds of nature and humming a tune, meanwhile Finn was sitting on a log, feeding some snacks to the wildlife. A squirrel came up and nibbled an acorn out of his hand, earning a giggle from FP.

"Nice to just slow down once in a while right?" FP asked.

He didn't respond.

"...Finn?"

Snapping out of his trance, he turned to FP to reply.

"Sorry. I'm just... Thinking."

The conversation he had with CB was still plaguing his mind. It was still hard for him to wrap his head around even now. Thinking of CB's death... As well as FP's reaction to the eventual event made him confused and anxious.

"...What were you thinking about?"

 _Go to her. Have fun._ His words echoed in his mind.

This was his time with her, and he didn't want it ruined by these negative thoughts.

"It's nothing important."

Feeding the animals, Finn had noticed he was hungry himself, and decided to snag some apples off a tree.

That is, he would have if one didn't fall right into his open palm.

"...What?" He muttered. Flame Princess burst out laughing, clutching her chest as she tried to contain herself.

"Hahahaha! What are the chances of that!?"

Finn looked up at the tree looming over them, confused at what had just transpired. All he saw were leaves and branches.

Looking back at the apple, he shrugged and took a bite.

"How is it?" She asked.

"Math. This is where Tree Trunks gets her apples." Finn said.

"The elephant?" She asked.

"Yup. She makes the best apple pie in Ooo."

Flame Princess sighed as she fell on her back again, singing the grass.

"I wish I could eat what you eat. Fire Elementals can only get so creative with coal and lava."

Finn took another bite.

"What does coal taste like?" He asked with his mouth full.

"Finn, I don't _know_ what anything else tastes like." She said, chuckling.

"Oh, right."

They both shared another laugh at that.

Flame Princess sat up criss-crossed, leaning her head against her arm as she looked out across the lake.

Finn set the apple on the log next to where he was sitting, and finding nothing else to do, began kicking his feet.

It wasn't until long his flame shield faded away, and the event caused him to jump in his seat.

"Woah." He muttered. Flame Princess took notice Finn's method of protection was gone.

"It wore off..." She said.

"I don't get it. I've spent longer in the Fire Kingdom, why does it disappear so soon?"

Flame Princess put a hand to her chin in thought.

"Flambo told me about it one time... He said it uses the extreme heat as energy. That's probably why it doesn't last long outside the kingdom."

"Huh." Finn said as he gripped his hands.

They both continued their previous actions for a few moments. FP looked out on the water and took in the various sounds of nature. Finn continued feeding the occasional squirrel or rabbit that wondered by.

"Hey, I've been wondering something..." Finn started.

"Hm?"

"Uh... What's your... Stance on PB right now?"

FP looked up at him.

"...Why do you ask?"

"She's the one hosting the festival after all."

 _Right._

She read it in the flier, but completely forgot about the detail. It's inevitable they are going to see each other at the event, and how it was going to transpire remained unclear to her.

Flame Princess's memories of the candy ruler were brought back, and the experiences made her unsure of her feelings.

"I don't get her. Whenever we saw each other, I couldn't tell if she was being genuine or just straight up lying- Oh."

She looked at Finn with regret, feeling what she had said was insensitive.

"I'm sorry. I know she's your friend and all..."

"No, you're just being honest. When's the last time you saw her?"

"...Not since you helped me retake the throne."

Finn gasped.

"For real?"

Flame Princess nodded in response.

"She hasn't requested to meet with me at all since then. I guess... The feeling must be mutual. Heh."

Finn scratched the back of his head, thinking of what to say next.

He had at least expected them to have met up and talked in his absence, but it seems she has been just as distant from her as he was.

"That's not really the case..." Finn started.

"What? I thought she hated me."

"Of course not! In fact, I think she'll even be glad to see you."

Flame Princess raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?"

"She's not the same person you saw three years ago. I know she hasn't had the best moral compass..." Finn said, remembering some of PB's previous deception. Her actions may have been well intentioned, but had questionable merits.

"...But I guess you could say she's turning over a new leaf. I trust her a lot now, and I think you should too."

Flame Princess sighed, thinking of Finn's observations. He could still tell she was on the fence about it.

"I... Ask about you occasionally, when I visit her."

This caught FP's interest, and it also made her a tad flattered.

"...Really?- I mean, what does she say about me?"

"Prubs regrets _a lot_ of stuff. She's been wanting to patch things up with you, but she thinks it's not possible anymore."

"...Really... Huh."

Getting up from her seated position, she stretched her arms and legs.

"I guess I can't hold a grudge forever..." She said, and Finn smiled.

"Awesome." He replied.

"Eventually my father is gonna have his due time as well, but he's gonna have to wait."

"Whoa whoa whoa- What?"

She nodded her head assuredly.

"Why?" Finn asked.

"I can't keep him locked up forever. My time in the lamp taught me that an eternity in captivity is something nobody should bear... Not even my dad.

No crime is worth eternity."

Finn was about to open his mouth to oppose, but he couldn't find the words. It made more sense than he lead on.

Instead of coming up with a reply, he just smiled and admired her decision.

 _You've changed so much..._ He thought to himself.

"You should quote that."

Finn made a high pitched scream at the sudden voice. They had both jumped back in alarm, realizing someone else was in their presence.

Finn quickly looked around to find the source, and it didn't take long. His eyes immediately locked onto the figure lying in the tree above him, he knew those green glowing eyes anywhere.

"...Huntress Wizard?" Finn said.

"Huntress Wizard?" FP wondered.

"Huntress Wizard? WHERE?" The huntress joked, picking an apple from arm's reach.

"What are you doing here?" Finn asked. HW casually took a bite out of her apple.

"I was here first. What are _you_ doing here?

...By the way, that was a nice catch." She said, dropping the partly eaten apple on the ground. Finn realized he had been played, and grunted.

 _Luck my butt._

"Finn, who is this lady?" FP asked.

"His girlfriend." HW replied stepping in.

"-! WHAT!?" FP shouted.

"Wha-!? No!" Finn shouted. All the while FP was in a state of utter shock.

"You two... Are...?" FP stuttered out, shakily raising up a pointed finger at HW.

"Hold on FP it's not like that! She's joking! Right Huntress?"

"Really now? I thought we were madly in love." HW joked.

Flame Princess looked back and forth between the two, and Finn was furiously shaking his head and waving his arms.

"Huntress drop the act! Please!?"

Realizing she had her fun, Huntress made a small giggle and jumped down from the tree, landing elegantly.

"Yeah. I was joking."

Flame Princess gave an immense sigh of relief in response. Finn gave a confused look as to why she did so, but decided not to mind it.

"Were you spying on us?" Finn asked.

"Nah. I was just listening to you two while you were unaware of my presence."

FP and Finn looked at each other, then back at Huntress.

"Sounds like spying to me." FP said.

" _Come on._ You were the ones who 'showed up'. I was just chillin' in that tree." She said, pointing upwards. She must have used a camouflage spell, considering Finn didn't see her when he looked up.

"So who exactly are you?" FP asked directly.

"Name's Huntress Wizard. I keep the forest in check. Finn over here's my friend."

FP decided to put her agitation aside from her games, and formally introduce herself.

"...I'm the ruler of the Fire Kingdom. You can just call me Flame Princess, FP works too."

"Oh..." HW replied.

 _So that's her... Huh?_ She thought.

"It's... A pleasure. Finn talks a lot about you."

"He... Does?"

Finn blushed furiously and quickly motioned for Huntress to stop by bringing a finger to his throat. He gritted his teeth hoping she wouldn't continue.

Luckily, FP didn't notice, and HW obliged.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet one of his old friends." Finn let his body go limp from the relief. Meanwhile FP looked disappointed by HW's explanation.

 _Oh..._

 _...Friends._

"What are you two doing out here?" HW asked.

"Oh, just hanging out. Getting some R&R you know?" Finn said.

 _Suuuuurrre._ Huntress thought with amusement.

"Understandable." She said. Deep down she wanted to meddle some more, but Finn was clearly not a fan of the idea.

"What have you been up to?" Finn asked back.

"Ugh, I've been up day and night looking for a certain someone. He's an outlaw of sorts... I was just about to be on my way."

"...Outlaw?" FP asked.

"I didn't know you were the bounty hunter type." Finn said. HW laughed at the assumption.

"Ha! Don't group me up with those pea brains. I'm just trying to keep my forest safe."

HW casually drew an arrow from her quiver and played with it, poking the tip with her finger.

"...You two haven't seen anyone suspicious lurking around have you?"

FP shrugged.

"Haven't seen anything really." She replied.

FP expected her friend to give the same answer, but nothing came out. Finn remained silent.

"Finn?" Huntress asked again.

"...Well."

The two girls' curiosity spiked with Finn's comment.

"Sorry FP, but I didn't get this..." Finn started, pointing to his bruised cheek.

"From a slip up." He finished. Flame Princess became a bit worried at Finn's secrecy.

"...What happened?" HW asked.

"Someone attacked me, in the woods."

They both gasped.

"Crazy I tell ya. The guy knew his stuff, and was strong too. I'm surprised I even came out of it on top. If he wouldn't have just walked away, I don't know what would have happened."

FP held a confused look.

"He... Just walked away?" Flame Princess asked.

"Well, more like ran. Disappeared, fled, you get it." He said. Flame Princess was still trying to piece the whole situation together, meanwhile Huntress was standing stiff, staring blankly at Finn.

"...This doesn't have to do with your little someone does it?" Finn asked.

"Not unless he was wearing a mask." HW replied.

Finn put his arms on his hips.

"With a black swirl and a pointy nose right?" Finn added.

Huntress nodded furiously.

"Finn I need to know where he went, now. Every second we waste is lost ground. Will you _please_ take me there?"

Finn and Flame Princess looked at each other with worry. Eventually, Finn nodded, agreeing to HW's request.

 _So much for some rest and relaxation._

* * *

The two girls looked in awe at the battleground where the engagement took place. Initially FP had thought it was just a simple rustle, but it almost looked like Finn took on a forest golem.

The area was torn up. There were multiple fallen trees, seeming to have broken as a result of a forceful blow. Small rocks were littered across the ground, assumingly from crushed boulders. Huntress Wizard quickly took to scanning the area for any sign of a trail, meanwhile FP was still wrapping her head around what had transpired.

"Finn... This is insane." Flame Princess said.

"I told you, the guy was fricken tough." Finn replied.

"But, this... This is... Any one of those blows could have killed you." She continued, looking at one of the fallen trees.

"Indeed. You were incredibly lucky you got out with but a manageable wound." HW interjected. Finn crossed his arms.

"Then how about you tell us who the heck he is!? Give us some deats Huntress." Finn suggested. HW clearly knew more about the culprit than the duo, but she had yet to explain anything to them.

Huntress Wizard continued dashing around the area as she spoke, looking for a possible lead.

"No. This does not concern you Finn."

"What!? The donk attacked him!" FP interrupted, agitated at HW's statement.

"Yes, but he's still _my_ problem."

"Huh!? He doesn't have to be just _your_ problem. We can help!" Finn stated. Huntress didn't pay any mind to them anymore, as her vision caught sight of faded footprints on the ground. A possible trail to the culprit. She jumped over a bush, beginning to follow it. Before she continued though, she stopped and acknowledged her compatriots.

"I can deal with him... **Myself.** "

Huntress turned back to face them.

"...And I am going to leave it at that."

Before either of them could speak a reply, she disappeared into the thickness of the woods in a mad dash.

"Huntress wait!" Finn yelled, running after her. FP followed soon after, but it was no use.

She was already gone, Finn was now panting from the failed attempt at catching up.

"What... The... Junk!" Finn said in between breathes.

"I wonder what all that was about." FP said.

"...I don't get her."

Recovering from his exhaustion, Finn had taken note of how dark the atmosphere became. It was getting late, and their day had to come to a close. Finn was still worried about his friend, but being a master of stealth, he found it useless to try and track her down. Giving up, they began to make their way back to the main path.

"...What do you think's going on?" FP asked as they walked.

"No idea."

"This 'fugitive' seems like a little much." FP said.

"Yeah. If I had trouble fighting him... I don't really know how she's gonna fair on her own."

Flame Princess stopped in her tracks, and when Finn noticed the absence of her footsteps, he stopped walking as well and looked back. She was stationary, looking down at the ground with somewhat of a sad expression.

"You could have told me what happened." She said. Finn turned around completely to face her.

He had the explanation, but he struggled to piece it together.

"Well, I... ..."

"I trust you Finn. You trust me too... Right?" FP asked. She was looking up at him now, and Finn could fully make out the disappointment on her face. He quickly closed the distance between them.

"No no... That's not what..."

Trying to form his response, FP remained silent.

"...I just didn't want you to worry. I wanted to... Spend some time with you today. Just us time, you know? No fighting or dungeon junk. I didn't wanna drag this whole situation into everything."

 _'Us' time?_ FP thought as she blushed.

"You... Kept it a secret because you wanted to spend time with me?" She asked.

"Uh, well..."

 _...Did it get warmer out here?_

"Yes."

"...Really?"

"...I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

"Of course not Finn! That means a lot to me, really. I..."

FP began shuffling her feet in the scorched grass.

"Uh, I like 'us' time too."

 _GLOB WHAT AM I SAYING!?_

Finn was now caught in a position he didn't know how to get out of, and so was FP. When she looked back up, she was immediately drawn into his eyes, which were looking straight at her. Her immediate thought was to look away, but she just couldn't.

"Ehem!" FP cleared her throat, releasing the tension. Finn immediately looked away, foolishly adjusting his hat.

"Even so... You still should have told me. Even if it gets in the way of... Us... I want to know if something happened to you. You're my friend.

It's fine to have secrets, I get it. Just... If you think it's important, be sure to tell me, okay?"

 _ **Go to her, have fun.**_

 _I'm sorry FP..._

"Okay. I promise." Finn nodded along with his answer.

Giving him a smile, FP giggled a bit with joy and skipped ahead of him. Finn soon followed after.

 _I'm sorry. But it's for the best._

Eventually they reached the main path, once again greeted by the ravaged aftermath of Finn's fight. The sight still managed to make FP uneasy, wondering what could have happened if it had not been cut short.

"...I guess this is where we split then."

"W-Wait!" FP quickly interrupted.

"What is it?"

FP lost her words for a second. She was acting a little nervous, beginning to twiddle her thumbs and looking down at the ground.

"H-How about I walk you home?"

Finn blushed a bit at the request.

"...Don't you need to get back?" He asked.

"Well, the sun's still setting. And..."

FP looked around the battle scarred landscape, observing the destruction.

"...If that guy's still around, I don't want you getting hurt."

Finn chuckled a bit at that, thinking FP was being a tad overprotective. Looking at her again though, she seemed serious about the matter.

"Finn... I'm not joking. He's dangerous."

He had regretted making light of the matter. How could he complain anyways? If it didn't trouble her, he was glad to spend some more time together.

"Well, If you really don't mind... I'd like that."

"I'm going with you whether you like it or not anyways." FP said with a smirk.

Despite their mysterious encounter with HW, the day they spent together was full of rest and downtime. Just having a slow day like this eased both of their minds, and brought them all the more close.

They made their way to the tree house, but neither of them muttered a word. Finn seemed slightly on edge, and it was obvious their recent encounter was still bugging him.

"Finn?"

He was brought out of thought when FP called his name.

"Huh?" He amply said.

"Are you worried about her?"

Finn ruffled his hat in frustration.

 _"I'll deal with him... Myself."_

"What was she talking about? Why doesn't she want us to get involved?" Finn continued.

"Why don't you tell me about her? How long have you been friends?" FP asked.

FP noticed Finn's body tense up for a split second as he walked. It was subtle, and she wondered why he did.

"...We met two years ago. Let's just say she was having some problems, and I helped her out."

"Oh, I see."

Finn saw a small pebble he was approaching on the ground, and kicked it along the path.

"We don't really see each other often... But when either of us is up against something tough we help each other out. I'd say we're more like comrades than friends, you know?"

"...Is that what's troubling you?"

Finn nodded.

"We always have each other's backs. I don't know why she's doing this."

FP ran up ahead of him and turned around, now walking backwards.

"What if it's something personal?"

Finn held his chin, thinking it might be a possibility.

"Maybe. But it feels... Off."

Slowing her pace again, FP walked beside Finn again, closer this time.

"You trust me right?" FP asked.

"Of course I do." Finn replied.

"Then trust Huntress will be able to cream the guy on her own."

Finn sighed, and looked up at the darkened sky. He proceeded to take off his hat to ruffle his hair.

"...You're right. I know she can take care of herself."

Finn and FP neared the tree house, growing larger on the horizon with the sun creeping down the landscape. Coming up on the front door, Finn faced Flame Princess for his goodbyes.

"Okay, _this_ is where we split." He said, getting a giggle from FP.

"Guess I'll see you..." She started, expecting Finn to finish for her.

"Tuesday! We're going to the festival."

"Oh right! Er, you'll have to stop by my place. I dunno where the locale is."

"Yeah okay. Sounds good."

After that, Finn expected FP to retreat back to her home. Instead, she just stood there, staring at him.

His eyes didn't leave her's either. They were caught in some kind of trance, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Uh..." He simply uttered.

FP quickly snapped out of it hearing Finn's confused reaction.

"Erm, bye..." She said.

"...Bye...?" Finn replied, not fully knowing how to respond.

FP turned around and began to walk, but stopped after three steps. She stood there for a good few seconds, and Finn could hear her take a deep breath.

 _What is she doing?_ He wondered.

"FP? Are you... Okay?"

Before Finn had time to react, she quickly turned around and dashed toward him. Finn recoiled to the point where he almost fell over, as FP was but inches from his face.

The next thing he felt was a burning sensation on his cheek. It lasted a couple seconds, then disappeared.

"B-Bye!"

FP quickly shot herself into the sky, with such force that Finn was knocked to the ground. Grunting as he came back to his senses, he could find no sign of FP anywhere in the sky.

She had disappeared, and Finn was left astonished.

Slowly raising his hand up to his cheek, he felt the burn FP inflicted from her kiss. To anyone else, it would have left pain.

To him, it left insurmountable joy.

But that joy was quickly followed by confusion.

 _Was... That... Real..?_

 _No... It was a friendly exchange, right?_

 _RIGHT?_

 _Hold on hold on! Was that actually a kiss!?_

 _She can't! Wait, can she? What..._

 _Huh?_

 _Who?_

 _Where..._

 _WHAT?_

"Finn!"

The sound of a door slamming open could be heard, but Finn didn't acknowledge it at all.

"Ah man dude! We should have hung out sooner! I didn't know you got back together with Flame Princess!"

 _This can't be happening... This can't be happening..._

"Buddy?"

 _Is... This a dream?_

"DUDE!?"

Finn quickly jerked his head to the sudden voice.

Standing there, was a yellow dog with rather large jowls, hands on his hips assumingly from his lack of acknowledgment.

When he recognized him, his mouth went agape, and his hands gripped his head in disbelief.

"JAKE!?"

* * *

 **Yes! I am bacc!**

 **So this took a while. I'm getting into the habit of waiting half a chapter in advance to post, so the next one is currently in progress!**

 **I don't know if the direction I'm gonna take is gonna be good, but we'll see. Lemme know of any grammar issues or inconsistencies.**


	10. Chapter 10

Before Jake knew it, he found himself wrapped in a loving hug by his best friend. He was surprised at first, but returned the offer, holding tight.

They released their grip soon after, and Finn was caught wondering what the heck he was doing here.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Finn asked.

"To see you my man!" Jake said, giving a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find time to hang, Lady got kind of sick and I couldn't leave the house."

"...Huh? Is she okay?"

"Yeah she's fine now. What about you? I noticed a certain someone was putting the moves on ya just now." Jake said with a smirk. His tail was wagging adding further to his smugness.

Finn gave a nervous laugh.

"Oh... You saw that huh?"

"Let's talk about it inside. It's getting chilly out here. _Brrr._ " Jake said wrapping himself in his arms.

"Sounds good."

* * *

Finn and Jake were waiting patiently for their dinner at the table. BMO was cooking up some beef stew, whilst the duo recapped their experiences apart from each other. Jake discussing his new life with Lady, and Finn explaining his rekindled relationship with Flame Princess, being careful to leave out the 'sensitive' details.

"Wait... So you two... Aren't going out?" Jake asked. Finn blushed in response to his question.

"No. We're just friends, that's all."

Jake furrowed his brows.

"But... She kissed you."

Finn's face reddened.

"Uh, so what? She was just saying goodbye..."

Jake crossed his arms.

"And you don't think it's because...?" Finn's head jerked up as he blushed again.

"...I doubt it."

"That's not how a 'friend' would say goodbye to someone man."

Jake leaned in closer to Finn's ear.

 _"Especially if it's a girl."_ He whispered. Finn recoiled at his statement.

"Come on dude! You're being ridiculous. It has to be something else." He said.

"You can find out when you confess to her at the festival!" BMO interrupted, cheerfully clapping his hands.

"I never said I was gonna do that! I said when the time's right!" Finn said, quick to defend.

"...Doesn't now seem okay?" Jake asked.

"Of course not! She's-"

 _She's..._

 _Stressed? Burdened?_

 _But the kingdom seems to be in better shape now..._

 _We found her diary..._

 _And we've gotten really close this past month..._

"Finn." Jake said, catching Finn's attention. Judging from his conflicted look, he knew he was thinking the same thing.

"To me it doesn't seem like there's anything standing in the way now. If you really want to, then I think the festival is gonna be the right time."

"You really think so?"

Jake nodded, but Finn still looked unsure. Lowering his head, he held it again with his hand.

"But... Is it really okay? If we used to date, what if she casts me aside for it? I don't wanna jeopardize our friendship because of..."

"Because of the way you feel?" Jake interrupted.

Finn looked at him again, and the dog put a paw on his shoulder.

"You can't help the way you feel man, Flame Princess definitely knows that. Worst case scenario is you two will just keep being friends. My question for you is, are you okay with that?"

Finn was still in awe from Jake's words of wisdom, and found himself amply nodding his head in agreement.

"Absolutely." Finn stated.

"That's the right answer." Jake responded.

As Jake trailed on, BMO took the now finished stew and set it on the table. Neptr soon entered the room and approached the three.

"Who wants some pie?" The robot asked. The trio humorously raised their hands.

Expecting Neptr to just pull out one so they could split it, he spit out three whole pies onto the table, and they all laughed in unison.

"Thanks Neptr, but I think this is a little much." Finn said.

"Nah it's cool, we'll have leftovers. I can take some back to Lady." Jake replied.

Soon they all dug in, including Finn and Jake's robot companions. They found it funny and cute how BMO always attempted to eat food, along with Neptr trying to mimic his actions.

"Oh! Speaking of the festival... There was one other reason I came to see you tonight." Jake said.

"What is it?" Finn replied with a mouth full.

"PB's gonna need some help finishing up tomorrow. The whole gang's getting together. Well that is, if you wanna come."

"...Everyone?"

"Yup! Marcy, PB, me, and you! It won't be all work, we can mess around a bit too."

 _Come to think of it, I haven't seen PB since we slayed that dragon for her..._

"Of course man." Finn replied.

"Yeah, I promised Lady I'd set aside some time for my friends. I'm...

I'm really sorry we've been so distant this past year." Jake said with a hint of regret.

"Don't worry about it dude it's fine. I know you got a huge responsibility now."

Jake swallowed another mouth full of stew, and sighed.

"It's not fine. We're bros! Bros are supposed to stick together no matter what."

Jake proceeded to stand up on his seat, and put a hand over his heart and raised the other.

"I promise. From here on out, I'll find more time for you buddy. You're just as important as Lady to me."

Finn noticed he still had a mouth full of unprocessed food. No longer distracted from Jake's speech, he swallowed, and lunged forward to give the dog a hug.

"Thanks Jake."

"Seems like you'll also need me to give you some dating tips."

"Heh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Both sharing a laugh, they continued to eat the rest of their meal, with BMO and Neptr still humorously trying to consume the food.

* * *

They both made their way up to the bedroom to get some rest. Jake had planned on staying the night, and Finn happily obliged.

"Wow... My bed's still here?"

The cabinet with the drawer extended, sheets pillow and all, was still ever present in Finn's bedroom.

"It's a piece of history ya know? A part of the house, I don't ever wanna change it." Finn said, currently changing into his night clothes.

Jake hopped into the drawer and gripped the sheets, taking a deep sniff of them.

"It's still got the me smell!" He said, earning a chuckle from Finn.

The human was now dressed in his cozy night gear, and climbed into his bed. It wasn't until Finn reached for it that Jake noticed the strange statue sitting on his nightstand.

"What's that?" Jake asked.

"It's a little something for FP." Finn said, and handed it to Jake for him to look at.

"Wow. I know you can sculpt but... This is pretty impressive." He said, inspecting the intricate details. It wasn't quite finished, but close. Jake could easily tell what it represented.

It's a female fire elemental, standing on top of a carved out pedestal which also served as the stand for the sculpture. The figure's wearing a long dress covering her legs and clutching her hands close to her chest. She's looking down, eyes closed, and a smile etched across her face. It almost looked like Flame Princess, but the figure is much taller. Jake wondered that maybe Finn bunked the proportions, and tilted his head in confusion.

"It's supposed to be her mother." Finn said.

"Ohh, I see." Jake replied.

"When we were hanging out in the courtyard I saw a statue of her. It seemed like she was really special to FP, so I wanted it to be of her."

"That's very thoughtful man."

"...You don't think it's weird do you?"

Jake simply waved his hand.

"You're overthinking it dude. She'll love it." That earned a huge sigh of relief from Finn, and Jake handed the statue back to him. Extending his grass sword into a small pike, he reached for a similarly sized hammer on his nightstand and started chipping away again.

"How long have you been working on that?" Jake asked.

"Since we made up. I wanted to give her something to celebrate our friendship."

"Awesome."

As Finn continued chipping away at the sculpture, Jake tucked himself under the covers, getting ready for a good night sleep.

"You think Huntress Wizard is gonna be okay?" Finn asked.

"I wouldn't worry about her, that girl's tough. She handles things like this all the time right?"

"Yeah... Yeah. She'll be alright." Finn had to withdraw from carving for a moment, as he was thinking about Huntress again.

"Dude, Finn, have some faith." Jake said.

"Ugh, I'm being a worry wart. I know she'll be fine."

Finn stopped chipping. Figuring he made enough progress for now, he set it on his nightstand and tucked himself into his sleeping bag.

Jake set his book back in the cabinet and let out a yawn, which caused Finn to do so as well. The dog snuggled into the padded drewer, and let his eyes close.

"Night Finn."

"Night Jake."

Jake quickly drifted off to sleep, meanwhile Finn was still awake, thinking about his last interaction with his everlasting crush.

 _...Why FP? Did that mean something else?_

* * *

 _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

 _WHY DID I DO THAT?_

 _WHAT WAS I THINKING!?_

"...Princess?"

"Huh!? What!?"

Flame Princess sprung her head up from the pillow she had previously burried her face in.

"...Hello?" CB called again from outside her room.

FP got up from her bed and walked over to the door. Opening it, she found her knight standing before her, a worried expression on his face.

"CB! Uh, hi!"

"Hey. Everything... Okay?"

"Y-Yes of course!"

"...Really? You ran past me like you saw a ghost."

"...I'm not scared of ghosts."

"Figuratively. How did things go with Finn?"

"Uhh..."

FP then let out a fake yawn.

"Boy am I tired! Goodnight CB!"

"Er, good-"

The door slammed shut, and CB was left with a confused look.

"...Night? Hmm..."

 _What happened with those two?_

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in the forest...**

"Hmmhh... Gh..."

"Coming to your senses?"

"Ghh... ...Wh-... Wizard..?"

"Correct."

"Agh! Untie me!"

"Not a chance." Huntress Wizard said, dragging a tied up man along the rugged ground.

He wore a ragged black cloak and various weapon belts, all of which were completely empty due to precautions by Huntress. His face was completely concealed by a white mask, which had a black swirl spiraling down the center and a spike sticking out of the front, symbolizing a nose. The top of it had black feathers attached.

"...Mari? Rew?" The man called out.

"I know how you communicate. I used a spell to block out your telepathy, nobody but me can hear you."

He flinched as he was dragged over a rock, colliding with his head.

"Ouch! You damn witch!"

"Shut up."

After struggling a bit more to break through the ropes, the man ceased. He let his head go limp as he was dragged across the ground.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the Adali of course. You're going to tell us where the rest are, even if we have to beat it out of you."

Huntress stopped dragging the man, then turned around and loomed over him.

"I could just knock you out with a spell..." She said as she rose a fist.

"...But this is for Finn."

*THWACK*

* * *

 **Short I know, but there will be more to come.**

 **Not much else to say, keep me posted on errors.**


	11. Chapter 11

It was the next day after Finn and FP's last interaction, and the last day before the festival. Finn and Jake were currently making their way towards Gravy's Grotto, looking forward to seeing their friends and hopefully finishing the preparations.

After a long trek towards the Mystery Mountains, made shorter by Jake's abilities, they had arrived. Jake shrinked down to his normal size and Finn plopped on the ground.

They stood before a rather large cave, which was decorated with ribbons and torches, lining the rim of the entrance. The interior was lit by even more torches, making for a rather pleasing and warm asthetic.

"Feels like ages since I've been here." Finn said as he entered. Jake followed suit.

"Remember when Gravy needed us to clear out all those mutant Gorb Ants?" Jake asked.

"Hahaha! The guy was terrified!"

"You'd think someone like him would just brush those things off..."

"Dude probs got a phobia or something."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a base echoing through the tunnel. Finn and Jake stopped and looked at each other having a realization, then quickly broke into a sprint.

Once they reached the end of the cave, they were met with the full extent of the cavern.

The cave was huge, big enough to fit that of another Candy Kingdom inside. The ceiling had a few enormous holes that broke to the surface, letting in sunlight that illuminated the cavern. Vegetation from above seeped through the crevices, with leaves, roots, and vines extending themselves downward. The ground of the cave was thick with green as well, with grass covering most of the floor and trees growing all around.

One of the ceiling openings was connected to a nearby lake on the surface, and let down a gorgeous waterfall that poured into a river networked throughout the area. In the distance a small house could be seen, along with a man, supposedly Gravy, sitting upon its front porch.

There were various booths and stages set up littering the location. If Finn didn't know better, he'd think it looked like a small town.

Candy citizens were traveling through the pathways carrying supplies as well, to which Finn assumed they helped set up the whole event.

"Never gets old huh." Jake said.

"Yup." Finn replied.

The sound of a base guitar became more present as they arrived, and it didn't take long for the two to find the source. Marceline was jamming out on a stage with PB manning an audio console off to the side, wearing headphones.

"The acoustics in here rock!" Marceline yelled with joy. Finn and Jake overheard her as they made their way down to them.

"Ohhhh now I get it." Jake said.

PB took notice of Finn and Jake's arrival and dismounted the headphones from her head to greet them.

"Hey guys!" PB said waving. She was wearing a casual bright red hoodie and jeans with her hair tied back, and Marcy wore a simple white T-shirt with red trim on the sleeves and shorts. The location meant no need for a sun hat. Marcy also took note of the duo's presence, and flew down off the stage.

"What's up?" Marcy asked.

"Nothing much..." Finn said, earning a nudge from Jake with his elbow. He nervously laughed, if he assumed correctly what Jake was implying.

"...Nothing much? I mean I know Lady was sick... But why haven't you visited Finn? It's been like, weeks." PB said.

"Wait... What?" Finn said.

" _Yeah_ Finn, why _haven't_ you visited?" Marcy asked, flying overhead with a rather large smirk. Her and Jake's reaction made PB raise an eyebrow.

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" PB asked.

"Uhh... Well PB you see... I kinda... Started... Hanging out with FP again."

"Oh! Well that's- HUH?"

PB dropped her headphones to the ground and quickly grabbed Finn by the shoulders.

"Since when!? What tier are you two at!? YOU TWO ARE TAKING THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS RIGHT!?"

Finn blushed furiously at PB's assumption and shook his head furiously.

"NoNoNoNoNo! We haven't- I mean- er... We're not dating!" He said rapidly.

"...Oh."

PB quickly relinquished her hold on Finn and pretended to clear her throat.

"W-Well then, uh, good to hear you made up... Anyways, we have work to do. We finished setting up everything, so now it's just a matter of making the place look nice. Here."

PB handed Finn and Jake a to-do list. It involved general clean up activities and setting up more decorations.

"Alright, this'll be a piece of cake!" Jake said.

"Easy for you to say." Finn responded.

"Heh, yeah." Jake replied.

"Me and Marcy are gonna keep calibrating the audio. We'll see you two later." PB said.

"Oh, okay." Finn said. Jake stretched under him picking him up.

"What time is it?" Jake asked.

"Uh... Decoration time?" Finn replied, unsure.

"Yeah man!"

"Woahh!" Finn said, as Jake took off towards their first destination, and PB waved them off. When they were out of sight, she turned to Marcy, who was retuning her base.

"Alright. Deats." PB simply asked.

"Oh, FP just lost something and Finn found it. Turns out they made up just fine. That's all I know."

"I see..."

"Worry about it later. We got stuff to do."

"Yeah, alright."

* * *

"...Your majesty?"

"Huh!?" Flame Princess's head shot up, and she readjusted herself in her throne. Looking to see who adressed her, it was that of a messanger fire elemental. Female, and holding a stack of papers.

"Oh! Terribly sorry, what do you have for me today?"

"No need to apologize princess. I have received the logs for our lava production."

FP clasped her hands together.

"...How bad is it?"

The messenger flipped through her stack of papers.

"You'll be pleased to know it's not as bad as you think, so far it has been a rather warm fall. The streams are cooling, but not enough for a shortage. We're only down twelve percent."

"Really?"

"Yes. Our surplus will continue to go down as we move into Winter, but it doesn't look like it'll be a bad year."

"Phew! That's good to hear. Got any other news?" FP said as she sunk back in her chair.

"Not as of yet."

"Hm, okay. Thank you, you're dismissed."

The messenger bowed her head, then walked off elsewhere in the palace.

"Are you doing alright?" CB asked, standing next to her.

"Yes! Yes I am!" FP hastily responded.

"...You sure? You seem kind of out of it today."

"Um..."

"This doesn't have anything to do with yesterday does it?"

"Uh, no of course not! I told you nothing happened."

"...You never said that."

"Oh! I... Didn't?"

Noticing nobody was awaiting to ask her anything, CB took FP's hand and quickly walked her out of the throne room. Once they were alone in the hallway, CB addressed her.

"You've been acting weird ever since last night. What's up?"

"CB really, it's nothing."

"Phoebe."

She jumped back a bit when CB addressed her by her name.

 _Glob... He's serious._

"Tell me. If something's bugging you I really want to know."

She contemplated for a moment before she answered, but reminded herself that this was her knight, her companion. He was there for a shoulder to lean on, and she mentally kicked herself for hesitating.

"I... Kissed him... On the cheek, yesterday."

"...What? Really?"

FP nodded, meanwhile CB's surprised expression turned into that of a smirk.

"I figured you never let him go."

"Okay okay fine! But... I've just been freaked out about how he's taking it. I can't get my mind off him."

"How did he react when you did it?"

"Ugh! I don't know! I just flew off because I was scared! What do I do? What if he doesn't wanna be friends with me anymore? Gob what if he doesn't show up tomorrow!?"

"Whoa take it easy, just relax."

FP broke out of her panicked state and took a couple deep breaths. Once she composed herself, CB continued.

"Just think for a moment. Why don't you try putting yourself in his shoes? How would you react?"

She shuffled her hands as she played the scenario back in her head.

"I'd... Probably be confused. I don't think I'd be angry just... Conflicted."

"Okay. Finn's probably confused. Tell me what you think the best solution is."

"..."

FP's mind was brought full circle, as she realized she had trapped herself into the inevitable circumstance.

"I... Tell him the truth."

CB nodded.

"But... What if he gets mad? I'm the one who broke it off with him... And what if... What if he found someone else?

CB naturally knew the answer to the second question, but he respected Finn enough not to tell her.

 _I'll leave that part for you man._

"Hey, this is Finn we're talking about here. Come on, you think he'd really act like that?"

"I... Suppose not..."

FP still seemed unsure about her eventual confrontation with 'the truth', but CB tried to rassure her. He took her hand in his and looked straight at her.

"If you love him, don't keep it bottled up inside. Just tell him how you feel, he'll understand."

FP tightened her grip on CB's, and slowly nodded her head.

"Okay, tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll do it."

Then, CB pulled her into a hug.

Admittedly, he didn't know what it was like to love someone romantically. He didn't fully understand the fear she was experiencing, but it was apparent that it meant a great deal to her.

She was afraid of losing a friend, someone who she cared for dearly, in an attempt to rekindle the previous level of their relationship.

Despite his reassurance, he knew there was still a shred of doubt in her mind, but she was willing to do it all the same.

She broke off after about thirty seconds.

"Thanks CB."

"See? You can tell me. You're all clouded up from this emotional junk."

"I guess I am."

FP looked back at the door they came through, and sighed.

"I better get back." She said, and made her way through the door. CB followed as well, and she continued her royal duties.

* * *

It was now in the eve. The cavern's preparations for the festival were complete, and the Candy citizens made their way back to the kingdom for a good night's rest. Meanwhile, Marceline, Finn, Jake, and Bubblegum stayed behind, and took it upon themselves to relax and catch up. With the cave's insurmountable size, there were still many untouched areas void of any decorations or booths, and such made easy accommodation for a bonfire.

They were sitting around, telling jokes, playing games, and Jake was currently telling a scary story.

"...And they were never seen again. WooooOOOOoooo..." The dog said, wriggling his hands.

"Psha, that sucked." Marceline said. Jake huffed in response.

"Well okay Marcy, how about you try and- actually please don't." Jake said swinging his mood. Marceline's stories had a habit of keeping him up at night.

Finn and PB laughed in response.

"I dunno, I thought it was okay." PB said.

Finn got up from the log he was sitting on and stretched his limbs.

"You guys keep going, I need to take a walk." He said.

"Oh, okay." Marcy said.

A couple seconds later he walked off, out of sight. The area they were residing in was partially thick with trees, creating somewhat of a semi-forest inside the cavern. It didn't take long for Finn to disappear.

Soon after, PB got up as well.

"I'm gonna go with him." She said. Marcy and Jake simply waved her off, and she went after Finn.

"...Okay, so this wizard walks into a barn-"

"I SAID NO!"

* * *

As Finn walked, with no specific direction in mind, his thoughts trailed off to the kiss FP laid upon him the night before, and how it was going to affect them tomorrow.

 _How do I address her after that? What even was_ _ **that?**_

 _Come on Finn. It's obvious it was just a goodbye. Don't get too ahead of yourself. You're fantasizing. Don't fantasize, it just creates disappointment..._

 _Fantasizing..._

 _Glob, I was so dumb._

"Hey!"

Finn was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard Bubblegum's voice. Looking behind him, he saw her trying to catch up. Once she was level with him, she slowed her pace down to his.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Oh, trying to clear my head is all. How about you?" Finn asked.

"I just wanted to talk. Seems like a lot has happened since I last saw you."

"Oh, yeah..." Finn said.

"Thanks again for helping me out." PB said.

"Don't mention it. How's everything now?"

"All back to normal. The candy people have kinda gotten used to it I guess."

"I bet."

Finn arrived at one of the cavern's various water networks. The stream was rather large, and he just decided to sit and watch. PB did so too.

"So... You and FP started hanging again? When did that all start?"

"A few weeks ago. I'm guessing Marcy gave you the low down."

"...What was it that she lost?"

"Er, I think it's better for all of us if you don't know... Heh." He said with a nervous laugh.

"- _Oh._ Uh, okay. Don't need to know.

...So how is she doing?"

"Hmm, well..." Finn dug around for a rock on the riverbank. Eventually he discovered a flat one, and brought it up to look at it.

"She was going through some stuff when I saw her. It didn't look like her kingdom was in the best shape.

...But this past month things have been looking better. Her people respect her a lot now."

Finn chucked the rock across the river as it skipped a couple times, then vanished under the water.

"She seems happy." He said.

PB gave a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was worried about her..."

Finn smiled at that.

"I invited her to the festival." He said.

"...Really...

And she knows I'm the one who put it together?"

Finn nodded.

 _Then..._

 _Maybe she doesn't completely despise me._

"She still wanted to come. I think she's open to talking it out with you."

"...Seriously?"

"Yup."

PB was overjoyed, it was certainly good news.

"Thanks. I don't really want to be at ill terms anymore."

"I know you can work it out."

When PB looked at him, he could feel Finn was deep in thought about something. He was looking out at the river, leaning on his arm, with a face PB was all too familiar with.

"You still love her don't you."

Finn's blush returned.

"Uh... Heh. You know me, stubborn as a rock."

PB giggled.

"Are you gonna tell her?"

"I'm thinking about it. Maybe tomorrow."

"Sounds romantic."

"BMO said the same thing." Finn said with a chuckle.

They sat there for a couple more minutes in silence, simply taking in the sounds of nature and the beauty of the cavern. The cieling was beginning to show strange glowing lights, seemingly from various glow bugs nesting above.

"Hey, I want you to know something." She said.

"What is it?"

PB brought her legs up to her chest and hugged them.

"Uh, I don't know... Well, I guess we both don't know how FP feels but...

Back when you two were dating... I was just a complete jerk. I was overtly critical of your relationship, and it was something you didn't deserve. Not after all of the emotions you went through, especially with... Me."

PB looked at Finn, meanwhile he was awestruck.

"Prubs..." He didn't know what else to say.

"It wasn't right of me to keep you away from happiness."

Finn turned to face her.

"You were just trying to keep me- no, everyone safe PB. Like, literally everyone. You don't have to be sorry for that. It's cool, really."

"No!"

PB hastily gripped Finn by the shoulders.

"It's true that I was worried about you but... I went about it all wrong!"

Then, she released the tension on Finn, and her body went slightly limp as she relaxed.

"I could have found a way for you two to be closer... I could have done something to help you, to help her... Instead I harbored this stupid hope you two would eventually break up...

...And when you did...

...I'm so sorry Finn." She said, with every ounce of regret she had.

"PB... You don't need to do this to yourself. That was a long time ago. Look at us, we're still tight right?"

PB rubbed her face off, trying to clear her frustration.

"...Yeah. Sorry for getting emotional."

"Heh, you remind me of when I apologized to FP."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you should have seen me, I was just going, and I mean _going_. I started and I... Just couldn't stop." He said chuckling.

"Emotions suck." PB said blankly.

"Yup." Finn responded.

A reminder was suddenly sparked in Finn's head. PB was right here, he'd might as well ask her.

Bringing his pack onto his lap, he dug through it looking for his special gift.

When he brought out the statue, PB gasped in awe.

"You like it?" He asked.

"...It's beautiful. Is that Flame Princess? Wait, no, it's... Her mom?"

"Yeah. I wanted to make something special for her."

"Awwwwwwwwwe..." She jokingly said covering her cheeks, and Finn blushed in response.

"Yeah yeah. I actually don't know what it's made of, so I was just wondering..."

"Sure, let me take a look at it." PB said, and Finn handed it to her.

She brought out some kind of calculator-like device from her pocket and scanned the statue with it. After a few 'beeps' and 'boops', a phrase appeared on the screen, along with a strange 'alarm' type sound.

"Uh..." She muttered.

"...Uh?" He responded.

"Finn, where did you get this?"

"Just an old dungeon? Why?"

PB put the device away, and handed the statue back to Finn.

"This is Bernidium." PB said. Finn tilted his head in confusion.

"...I don't follow."

"It's a manufactured element.

Long ago, far before the mushroom war, existed a legion that hunted dragons, and they used this material in their weapons. At the time, dragons were fiercer and had harder scales, and this was the only thing capable of penetrating them. Its hardness was rivaled by no other, and could last for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

They were the only ones that knew how to make it. Many think that the rest had disappeared along with them, but its creation has been kept record of."

PB pulled up a hologram from her device, and Finn scooted closer to look at it. He was being shown a figure of the Bernidium's composition.

Although he wasn't too educated with chemistry, Finn knew the basics.

"Carbon... Iron... Wait, what's that one?" Finn asked.

"That's the thing. This is made of three elements, but the third is... Unknown. It's the basis for its longevity and strength but only the legion knew what it was."

PB put her device back in her pocket, and turned her attention to Finn again.

"What you have right there is one of the rarest metals on the planet."

Finn stared in awe at the material.

He never even suspected what he obtained was of such high rarity and historical value...

"Wait just a minute. Are you _sure_? Because I was able to chip through this thing no problem."

"Ahem, yes well you see... That's _unfinished_ Bernidium. Right now it's in a state that can be easily cracked or carved."

PB raised a finger.

"It must be heated past five thousand eight hundred and twenty nine degrees Celsius, to which it melts and reforms its composition. Then, it has to be cooled to below two hundred and thirty degrees Celsius and struck with enough force to cancel out the thermal vibrations from the atom density. This must all be done within eight point six seconds of reaching the melting point. After which, you have hardened Bernidium! Though, your results may vary."

PB smiled triumphantly with her knowledge of _science,_ meanwhile Finn was dumbstruck she managed to remember this information.

"Showoff." Finn said.

" _It's just science."_ The smug Bubblegum said in response, shrugging her shoulders. The gesture made Finn laugh a bit.

"Why is there a time limit?" He asked.

"It'll explode."

"...What?"

"Yup. The material is so dense and pressurized that the heat won't be able to properly-"

"Hold on hold on, am I giving Flame Princess **a bomb?** "

PB waved her hands and shook her head.

"Oh heavens no! That's only if you decide to go through with the process, which is impossible. The fire kingdom let alone any fire elemental can't nearly maintain that level of heat. It'll stay dormant forever."

Finn gave a heavy sigh of relief.

"I think it's all the more special that you're giving it to her. One of the legion members probably resided in that dungeon you found, and locked it away for safe keeping. Don't take your sight off that for a second until you give it to Flame Princess."

"Alright, I'll make sure."

Finn hadn't expected their conversation to go in the direction of 'dragon slayers and forge science', but he enjoyed talking with PB about anything. It was nice to just have a personal hang out with her, which was long overdue.

"...I think it's time to go back." PB said.

Finn nodded in agreement, they didn't want to make Jake and Marcy worried. Upon approach to the bondfire however, they heard someone talking. It didn't sound like Jake or Marcy.

"...And they were never seen again. WOOOOoooooOOOOoooo..."

Now in full view of them was that of Gravy, the owner of the cavern. He wore a ragged brown cloak of sorts and no shoes. Upon his head was a rather large tan mask. It seemed to be made of wood, and was shaped like an upside down egg, concealing the entirety of his face. His dark brown hair reached down to his shoulders, and his skin was an earthly yellow. He was sitting on a log just like the others, relishing in his tale.

"That was pretty good." Marcy said to him. Jake groaned.

"Come on! That was just like my- Oh. Hey guys." Jake cut himself off when he noticed Finn and PB.

Upon noticing them, Gravy rapidly stood up and walked over, assisting himself with a cane, and bowed his head to PB.

" _Princess!_ Hello hello!" He said, with a rather grainy voice. It was clear his age was taking a toll on him.

"Er, hi Gravy." PB responded.

"And if it isn't Finn! My boy, it is great to see you."

"Hey man." Finn said.

"I trust that you are taking care of my home?" He asked Bubblegum. She nodded.

"Yes I already assured you, the cavern will remain clean as a whistle. We'll be up and gone day after tomorrow." She said with confidence.

"Well good, and I better not see _anything_ left behind."

"Promise." PB confirmed.

It took him a while to notice, but Finn had been amptly staring at him throughout the conversation. Or rather, it appeared he was observing him.

"...Something wrong?" He asked.

 _It must just be a coincidence._

"...No. It's nothing." Finn responded, and quickly turned his attention towards something else. Gravy shrugged it off.

"Well then, I'm gonna head back. You all have fun tomorrow."

Gravy began to walk back to his small residence, but not before turning back to address them one more time.

"Remember, _clean as a whist-._ "

"Sheesh dude we got it! Go sleep!" PB said. Gravy quietly turned around, and vanished into the forest as he made his way back home. The group was alone once again, and they figured it was time to head back as well. The time had gotten away from them, and it was getting considerably late.

"...Why does he wear that thing again?" Marcy asked.

"It's just a part of his heritage." Finn said.

Upon exiting the cave, the four said their goodbyes to each other, with the exception of Finn and Jake who were staying the night at the tree house again.

The preparations were now complete.

A big day is coming for two very special people, to make a declaration, and decide their future.

* * *

 **...Ooobserver?**

 **N-NANI?**

 **Bruh what are you doing here, I don't think my story is worthy of such praise.** **I loved The Citadel of Truth by the way, gonna keep following Ember Alias. Keep up the good work.**

 **Nuclear Pigeon One: I know you're all on for the ride, but I'm gonna make the ride enjoyable!**

 **TheBookofEli: Happy to see someone following my updates :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In school now and work's a thing, but I'll try to keep up. Let me know of any mistakes.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey Finn, you doin' okay man?"

Finn was startled out of his thoughts when Jake addressed him. Currently on their way to the Fire Kingdom, the dog had grown to his abnormal size to cover more ground.

"I'm just thinking about... You know, the 'moment'." Finn said, putting emphasis on the last part.

Jake morphed his face to the back of his head so he could look at him, still keeping in mind of his surroundings.

"I get it, but don't let it stress you out. Today is supposed to be fun!"

Finn physically shook his thoughts of the future out of his head.

"Yeah, you're right!"

In truth though, the inevitable telling of his confession was putting him on edge.

It made him chuckle thinking of their first interactions, and how he so selflessly threw himself after her, admitting his love outright with no sense of fear or rejection.

But this time was different.

He had nothing to lose back then. His desire for Princess Bubblegum, someone who he could never be with, drove him into a pit of loneliness and want, so much so he couldn't resist the urge to tell this girl, his new love, that he wanted to be with her.

With no sense of loss, he didn't hesitate.

Now, he was putting their relationship at stake, and for what? A second chance that she may not give, their friendship destroyed, or a continued one...

 _Is this just a fantasy?_

 _Should I really just thrust myself into this? Why? Would she really feel the same way... Really?_

"You're still stressed aren't you." Jake guessed, still seeing some unusual vibes coming from Finn.

"...Yes."

"Dude, listen."

Jake proceeded to stretch a fifth limb out from his body, grasping Finn's shoulder.

"You have the whole day. Just hang out with her and enjoy yourselves. I think you're all bjorked because you feel rushed, but there's no rush, really.

Nobody is forcing you to do this, it's up to you. Tell her whenever _you_ are up to it."

Jake noticed that calmed Finn down quite a bit. He breathed deep and fell back, laying on top of him.

"You're my homie Jake."

"Darn right I am. Now take that thing off."

"I- ...What?"

"It's rude to wear a hat on a date man."

"Huh!? This isn't a- Grrr..." Finn pulled out of his rebutle at the last second, and took off his hat. Although he convinced himself, and FP as well, that this wasn't a date, he still wanted to look the part.

Finn combed his hair back with his hands a bit, then reached into his pack to pull out a mirror. It wasn't completely formal persay, but he was satisfied with it.

"Lookin' good." Jake said.

"Than- TREE!"

"Woah!"

Having been invested in their conversation, and looking the opposite direction, Jake failed to notice the obstical he almost walked into. Luckily he sidestepped at the last second.

* * *

Arriving at the Fire Kingdom border, Finn was once again met with Flambo 'patrolling' the perimeter, along with Jake now at his normal size.

"Hiya Finn- Jake!?" Flambo said, surprised.

"Yo Flambo." Jake said with a wave.

Flambo jumped down from his usual slumber rock to greet the dog.

"Nice to see yous! Whatcha been up to these days?"

"Uh... Marriage. Hehe." Jake said with a slight blush, and Flambo chuckled.

"Ohhh I feel ya."

Flambo then turned his attention back to Finn.

" _Well,_ you're sure lookin' flashy today." He commented. Finn simply crossed his arms.

"Dude, I just took my hat off."

"Ha! True true, I guess I'm just used to seeing yous in it. Yous are lookin' good though."

Finn felt a bit weird that simply removing his hat made him look, er, 'hansomer', but he took comfort in the idea FP would find it appealing. She did after all compliment him about it before their dungeon raid.

"Thanks anyways Flambo." Finn said. Flambo nodded in response.

"Assumin' yous lookin' for a flame shield?"

"Yeah! Hook us up!" Jake said.

Flambo went through his usual routine; chanting the language, summoning the runes, and spitting on the duo's foreheads with precision aim. The familiar blue aura surrounded them both instantly.

"Awesome! Here ya go buddy." Finn said, then tossed the flambit some coal from his pocket. Flambo caught it with his mouth gleefully, savoring the taste.

"Ahhh... That hit the spot. See ya guys." Flambo said, waving goodbye to Finn and Jake as they departed for the kingdom.

"Bye Flambo!" Jake replied, with Finn waving.

Shortly afterwards, they arrived at the kingdom's outer gates. The guards let them both in without hesitation, now grown accustomed to Finn's visits. Jake was partially mesmerized by the kingdom itself, having not visited for the same time Finn had, if not longer.

With most of his experiences related to the Fire Kingdom being unpleasant and hazardous, it was a welcome change to see the fire people being a bit less 'aggressive', assuming it was due to FP's new reign.

"She really brightened the place up hasn't she... No pun intended." Jake said.

"I know right? It's almost like a completely different place." Finn added.

It was Jake's first time here in a while, but even Finn was surprised at the progress. The kingdom was once a cluster of chaos with no sense of order, and to see the elementals casually exchanging groceries or mingling with each other made it rather comfortable.

...With the exception of a harsh remark Finn just received.

"...Huh?" Finn turned his head in all directions, and it didn't take long to find a face of annoyance sticking out amungst everyone else.

Finn approached the elemental, who seemed to be a male. His composition was that of a 'free form' elemental, and a sort of fireproof read clothing.

"You talking to me?" Finn asked, arms crossed.

"What? Me? Nope." The elemental said. He had a rather smug tone.

"You got something to say, say it." Finn replied. Jake was now beside him, giving a similar look to Finn. He was curious as well.

"Please, don't let me detour you from wasting _her_ time."

Finn's mouth went agape.

"... **I'm sorry?** " Finn said. The tone of his voice made Jake tense up a bit.

"You heard me."

"What are you implying!?" Finn asked.

"What makes you think you can just take our ruler on your little dates while she has a kingdom to maintain."

Finn stood there motionless, meanwhile their banter was beginning to attract attention from the locals. Side chatter could be heard, but nothing he could make out.

"It's bad enough she's a passive, premature child, and now she's running off with you... Every glob damned week. You've got some nerve just-"

The elemental flinched by Finn raising a fist, almost socking him in the face had Jake not grabbed his arm first.

"Dude relax! There's rules here too." Jake said. Finn sighed, he had to forgo his anger for now.

"You have no idea what you're talking about. I suggest you shut up and keep it to yourself." Finn said to the elemental.

" _I_ have no idea? Don't be coming in here like you own the place, you don't. I've lived here for forty years, you're just a fleshy outsider who's got the hots for our ruler."

"Wh- I- I don't have-"

 **"Do we have a problem?"**

A female voice quaked the street, and everyone present turned their attention to it.

It was that of Flame Princess, escorted by two flame guards in molten armor and spears. At first glance, Finn was glad to see her, but also had quite a different reaction to her getup.

Her hair was completely loose, flowing about in the air, and she wasn't wearing her normal attire or fire armor, but rather, a simple striped sweater and a skirt.

He had never seen her in such casual attire, and he admired how pretty she looked in it.

"Pff, no. I was just minding my own business when this fleshy-" The elemental started.

 **"Fleshy?"**

FP approached the elemental with haste along with her guards. He seemed to become increasingly nervous.

"Mind your tongue when speaking to the hero of Ooo. He's done this land many great services, not to mention being my friend. I will not have you disrespecting him, is that clear?" FP scorned. The elemental sighed in response.

"...Yes your highness. Uh, I'll be on my way." He said, and scurried off fast.

FP then approached Finn and Jake, followed by her guards.

"I'm really sorry about that you two." She said.

"It's fine." Finn said, albeit still annoyed by the elemental's comments.

"Finn would've totally punched that guy into oblivion if you hadn't come." Jake said. FP laughed a bit at Finn's expense, but he couldn't deny he was holding it back.

"I bet. It's nice to see you Jake, how have you been?" She asked.

"I've been great. You seem to be doing a good job around here too." He said.

"Thank you. Though... It seems some of my citizens are still getting used to it..." FP said with a hint of disappointment.

"But enough of that, we got a festival to go to!" She said enthusiastically.

"Yeah we do!" Finn said.

FP then turned to address her guards.

"Thank you for escorting me. You're free to return to your scheduled duties." She said.

"You're very welcome your highness. Please enjoy yourself." One of the guards said, and they both headed back to the main hold.

"Alright, let's go!" FP said said as she rocketed into the sky.

Finn and Jake smiled at each other, and Jake picked his buddy up, springing into the air after her.

* * *

They traveled considerably fast and reached the location within a half hour. Upon approaching the entrance there were a multitude of guests from all the kingdoms, save for the Fire Kingdom due to being relatively introverted. It created a plethora of colors that flooded into the cave. Though, the location actually being a cave was unexpected to FP.

"...Bubblegum's hosting this thing in a hole?" FP asked as they landed, earning a chuckle from Finn and Jake.

"Not just any hole, you'll see." Finn said. FP shrugged if off, figuring she'd be in for a surprise.

Upon entering they were greeted with the tunnel, lined with torches to keep the area properly lit. As they proceeded further inside, a plethora of sounds could be heard echoing through the tunnel. All instruments ranging from drums to various stringed pieces, was creating a muffled ambiance. Flame Princess, along with Finn and Jake, grew eager to see the festival in action.

And they weren't disappointed.

The cave's ceiling was now littered with strung lamps and streamers, providing light to the darker areas of the cave. The sunlight let in through the entrances up top revealed countless tents and booths, with citizens from all over Ooo peppering the pathways. There were street performers everywhere, each of them assumingly there to head start their careers with some first-person action, and the much larger bands could be seen setting up on stages for later performances.

The sight gave Finn and Jake a sense of accomplishment, as they fist bumped for a job well done. Meanwhile, FP had a hand to her mouth in sheer awe at the scale and beauty of it all.

"Pretty cool right?" Finn asked.

"Finn... This- This is beautiful. I... Oh glob where do we even start?"

Jake tugged at Finn's sleeve.

 _"Psst. I'm gonna go find Lady. You two have fun."_ Jake whispered.

 _"Alright. Thanks man."_ Finn responded, and Jake took off looking for his wife.

"Uh... Hey! Peppermint Butler's got maps!" Finn said to FP, turning her attention to the candy mint, handing out maps to the guests.

"Maps! I gots some maps!" He said with a box sitting next to him, filled to the brim with the papers.

"Hey Pepbut." Finn said.

"Oh Finn! Good to see you! And... Flame Princess?" The butler trailed off as he took notice of Finn's partner.

"Heh... Yeah. Hi." FP nervously said.

"Erm, well good to see you too. Here, use this to get around." Peppermint said, and handed Finn a map, detailing all the sectors of the cave as well as the times of the major events.

"Thanks! Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where Prubs is would you?" Finn asked. FP tensed up a bit at Finn's question.

"Sorry, no idea. She's hanging out with Marceline _somewhere_ down there, she'll turn up eventually."

"Oh, okay. Thanks again." Finn said, and started to make his way towards the festival with FP following along.

"Have fun you two!" Peppermint Buttler yelled, and continued handing out the papers.

Although Finn did help set up the event, the scale of the cave and the festivities still made it hard to navigate. Having a schedule of the major performances and games was helpful as well.

Currently they were walking down the path that lead from the entrance. There were no vendors or games present yet, but a couple of candy people handing out fliers and some other citizens just mingling.

"Ugh, okay, just break it to me." FP said, stopping in her tracks.

"I... What?" Finn responded.

"Come on, I know this outfit is... Off... You've been looking at me all weird ever since we left."

Finn's face went red. He hadn't realized his eyes had been wandering.

"...Have I?" Finn nervously asked.

"I knew I should have worn something else."

"Wait a minute! I don't think you look weird at all! I think you look cute!"

Flame Princess recoiled at Finn's remark, but the human himself hadn't quite registered what he just said.

...

...

 _..._

 _Cute? CUTE!?_

"You... Think I look cute?" FP asked. She was unsure if he heard him right.

"I mean... Yeah. I think it suits you."

"Really?"

"T-Totally."

FP brushed her hair, trying to hide her redness.

"Thank you. I wanted to try something more casual... You look nice too."

Finn rubbed his exposed head.

"...It's just my hair." He said.

"But I like your hair." FP replied.

Same as Finn, FP didn't expect to compliment him like that. He nervously laughed in response.

"Heh, thanks." Finn said.

Although Finn did like his hat, FP admiring his hair kind of overtook his admiration of it.

 _You know, I don't really see the harm in keeping it off... At least when I'm with you..._ He thought.

They had stopped at a three way fork.

"So, where to first?" FP asked. Finn took a look at the map.

"Hmm... Okay. The Muffin Tops are performing in a couple hours, down that way." Finn said, pointing to the left path.

"We can look around until it starts." He further suggested.

"Sounds good." FP said. They then continued on their way down the left pathway.

The booths and tents were intertwined with that of the occasional street performer, some with cheap drum kits made from barrels or guitarists with miniature amplifiers. Finn took the liberty of tossing them some gold for their entertainment, meanwhile FP was marveling at their skill.

"Have you ever been to this kind of thing before?" Finn asked. FP shook her head.

"I've attended some concerts before in the kingdom, but nothing like this... It's incredible." She responded.

"Cotton candy! Cotton candy here!"

A candy person inside a stall caught both of their attention. It was a gumdrop, standing ontop of a step stool to see over the counter. He was selling cotton candy.

Finn lit up at the stall, but his attitude quickly sunk when he saw FP with a look of disappointment. Upon noticing his look, FP's head quickly sprung up and waved her hands.

"Oh no! Really I don't mind, go have some."

Finn looked back over to the stall. The gumdrop noticed they were eyeing him, and he waved them over to come have some.

Then Finn thought of something. FP caught him pondering with his hand on his chin for a moment, then he quickly rushed over to the stall.

"Two please!" He said quickly, and the gumdrop handed him two cones with cotton candy. It was complimentary, but Finn offered him some gold regardless, and he amply returned to Flame Princess, who was surprised he brought two cones.

"...You're gonna eat all of that?" She asked. Finn laughed.

"No silly, this one's for you." He said. FP looked puzzled.

"I appreciate it, really, but you know I can't choke that stuff down."

"Maybe you can eat this." Finn replied. FP crossed her arms in response.

"What makes you think that?" She asked.

"...Well, more of a hunch really. What kind of food have you tried that I can eat?"

FP thought for a moment.

She wasn't _completely_ incapable of eating normal food by Finn's standards, but she couldn't taste it regardless, and it wouldn't satisfy her stomach all that much. She can think of a handful of times she tried to do so.

"A burrito Jake made for me... I tried some fruit once in the forest... Uh, one time I met Breakfast Princess for a meeting and she offered me some pancakes."

"That's it?" Finn asked.

"I think so." FP said.

"Try this." Finn quickly suggested.

Nonetheless, she decided 'oh, the heck with it', and she waved for Finn to give it to her.

Taking a bite out of the cotton clump, she scorched the candy a bit from her heat.

Expecting it to taste unpleasant, she was surprised for it to taste... New. She had never experienced the sweetness candy gave, nor even had any perception of what sweetness was.

And it tasted good.

She quickly took another bite, then another, and another. Half of her clump was left when she finally addressed Finn, who was watching with glee.

"It's... So... Good! I don't understand, why?"

"Cotton candy's super flammable, sorta like charcoal. I think that's how it works." Finn explained, then took a bite out of his own chunk.

"Or maybe, you know, it's just one of those things. Heh." He said with his mouth full.

 _Just... One of those things..._

 _"Attention all Ooo's the Ooo attendees!"_ Someone announced through the intercoms. It took FP and Finn as a bit of a surprise.

 _"The Muffin Tops will be performing shortly at the northbound stage. Please make your way there immediately if you wish to catch the show!"_

The sound of a slight click ended the announcement, and Finn and FP looked at each other for confirmation.

"Let's go!" FP said. Finn laughed joyously and ran towards the stage, followed closely by Flame Princess.

Upon approaching the stage, they were met with a rather large crowd. With it being one of the larger performances of the festival, it attracted most of its attendees. Finn and FP were able to make it close to the front row, and managed to get a good view even with a considerable amount of people in front of them.

There was somewhat of an invisible barrier created between them and the rest of the crowd due to Flame Princess. A circle of free space spanning a couple feet surrounded them.

The situation made FP a bit uncomfortable. Finn however was standing right there next to her, seemingly unscathed by the heat she was emitting.

He was closer than usual, mostly due to the crowded atmosphere. On Finn's side, the notion was _part_ of it, but he didn't want to admit he liked being near her like this, even if it did hurt.

"Am I hurting you? Uh, you don't have to stand here if you don't want too..."

The question invoked a look of empathy from Finn as he looked at her.

"FP, I'm happy to stand next to you, whether it hurts or not."

Finn, again, didn't expect to deliver such a remark, and FP was too surprised.

It brought her insurmountable joy that, regardless of her nature, he decided to stand by in the crouded environment.

"...Does it though?" She asked.

"Of course not." Finn replied.

They both knew it was a lie. Finn was physically uncomfortable- but it was numbed by the amount of experiences he's had with her when they were close. Even if he did have a minor rash later, he didn't care at all, knowing he got to share a moment like this.

"...Are you sure-"

"I want to." Finn interrupted.

Flame Princess looked at him in utter shock.

"Really, I like this." He repeated, assuring FP he meant it.

"Okay." She simply responded.

The banter earned smiles from both of them.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen!"_

Flame Princess' body froze at the announcement. Jerking her head towards the stage, she was met with Princess Bubblegum. She was dressing casual again just like yesterday, with a red t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was untouched and draped down her back.

 _"I pr-"_

She nearly bit her tongue off when she noticed Flame Princess in the crowd. She quickly tried to compose herself, and continue.

 _"I present to you the first performers of Ooo's the Ooo! Citizens of the Candy Kingdom and producers of the award winning album 'Poppy Deeds', give it up for the Muffin Tops!"_

The crowd erupted along with Finn and Flame Princess, however it was clear to him she was still a bit struck about seeing PB. When the crowd quieted down and PB left, Finn quickly addressed her.

"Hey, it'll be cool. Let's just enjoy the show." Finn said.

"Hm, yeah, you're right." She responded.

Three Muffins made their way onto the stage. One was blueberry and was holding a base, one was cinnamon and approached a previously set up drum set, and the last was a poppy seed muffin, holding a violin. The poppy muffin approached the microphone, and adjusted it.

"Testing... One two." The muffin said. She was female. The cinnamon muffin tapped the drums a couple times as she talked.

"Alright. Uh, hi." The muffin said. She had a very delicate voice.

"I LOVE YOU TIFFANY!" One of the croud members yelled. Everyone laughed in response, including the muffin.

"Hmhm. You're very kind. Yes, my name is Tiffany, here we have Marlo" She said, motioning to the blueberry muffin.

"And this is Marana." She said, motioning to the cinnamon.

"We're the Muffin Tops, and it's a pleasure to be performing for you today. We hope that you'll enjoy your stay here, and make this a very memorable night."

Another eruption of applause came from the audience. Finn cheered and clapped, and was happy that he saw FP doing the same, even more to an extent.

When the crowd silenced, Marlo emerged first on the drums, making a beat. It kept steady for a few moments, then he transitioned into a mini-solo, and led into Marana and Tiffany's base and violin.

The three instruments- while seeming like an awkward combination, went seamlessly well together. Finn felt himself tapping his foot from the drumline and Flame Princess was swaying back and fourth from the melody, minding not to bump Finn of course.

* * *

 _Okay. Okay. Just... Tell it like it is. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

 _I'm-_

"Bonnie?"

"AGH!"

Princess Bubblegum jumped back at Marceline's sudden intrusion.

She was standing just outside the entrance to the performance, and Marceline seemed curious about her behavior.

"Sheesh don't scare me like that!" Bubblegum retaliated.

"You know me, I got a knack for it. I'm so good it's just natural to me now, heh."

Choosing not to mind it, Bubblegum went back to her previous posture; arms crossed, a bit tight at that, and anxiously tapping her foot.

"...What's up?" Marcy asked.

"I'm waiting for Flame Princess."

"Oh, I see."

"You think she still hates me?"

"Probably."

Bubblegum raised an eyebrow at Marceline, and she gave a nervous laugh.

"B-But that's why you're apologizing, right?" Marcy asked. Bubblegum sighed.

"It's not just that...

What I did to her was vile and undeserving... I could have tried something else. Something that wouldn't be so cruel to an innocent little girl."

PB laughed for a couple seconds as she was deep in thought. Marcy watched on with curiosity.

"Sometimes... Heh, sometimes I think about what could have been. What it would be like to have a daughter..."

Marceline almost choked.

"...What? Really? You actually would have-"

"No. No I wouldn't. I would have locked her up in a cell and never let her see the light of day again."

"Woah, okay... Slow down." Marcy said. She held PB by the shoulders and looked straight at her. PB was still looking down.

"Look at me."

Marcy's hold on her tightened.

"Stop reminding yourself about the past. The past is there, okay? You missed your chance to be there for her... But you need to remind yourself why you're here now.

Why?" Marcy asked.

"...To be her friend." Bubblegum responded.

* * *

A roar of applause erupted as the Muffintop's final song came to an end.

 _"Thank you! Thank you!"_ Tiffany shouted through the microphone. The other members approached the front of the stage with her, and all took a bow together. There was another round of applause, and Tiffany handed to mic off to Marana.

"We're glad you enjoyed our performance." She said, and handed the mic off to Marlo.

"And we hope you enjoy the rest of your time at the festival today." He said.

This caused yet another round of applause as they all dismounted the stage, and the guests began to dismiss.

"What did you think?" Finn asked.

"They were amazing! I would love to see them again." She responded.

As they walked out of the enclosed area, it didn't take long for FP to spot that of Princess Bubblegum, standing a dozen yards away from the entrance. It seems she took notice of her as well, and they locked eye contact. FP began to approach her.

"Wait." Finn said, stopping her.

"Uh, look. I really don't want you to feel like you have to do this." He said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I dunno... It kinda seems like I've been pushing this whole thing on you and... I don't want you to have to go through with this just because of me."

Flame Princess was flattered Finn was taking her feelings into account. Although he did it the first time, she felt reassured that he was thinking about her all the way through.

"It's okay. If PB wants to do this then... I want to too." She said.

"Alright." Finn responded.

She began to approach Princess Bubblegum once more, and she walked towards FP as well.

They found themselves a few feet apart, and what felt like minutes of just standing there facing each other, PB decided to break the ice.

"Y-You look nice..." She said.

"...You too." FP said back.

"Flame Princess... Uh... Can we... Take a walk?" PB asked, rather unsuredly.

FP looked back at Finn.

"It's cool. I'll wait here- ack!"

Finn welt something rubbing his hair, and Marceline soon appeared behind him floating in the air.

"And _I'll_ keep him company." Marcy said.

Flame Princess looked back at PB, and nodded. Bubblegum began walking towards the outskirt of the path, and FP followed.

When they were out of sight, Finn gave a huge sigh and made his way towards a nearby bench. He sat down, holding his head with his hands, and Marcy floated playfully above him.

"I really hope those two will make up." Finn said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Marcy said.

"You think so?" Finn asked. Marceline nodded in response.

"I just hope Bonnie doesn't say something dumb... So how's the progress going?"

Finn looked confused.

"...Progress? What do you- AGH! Marcy!"

Finn gave a slight blush when he realized what Marcy was talking about. She laughed at his reaction.

"Come on dude it's not- Er, well..." Finn trailed off, and it made Marceline suspicions.

"Ohhh, am I onto something?" Marcy teased.

"Ugh, okay. I assured her this wasn't going to be, well, 'a date', but I promised myself I'd tell her today, er, tonight."

Marceline patted Finn's head, and he gave a slightly annoyed look.

"Good on ya Finn, stickin' to it. Just make sure that 'tonight' doesn't turn into 'tomorrow' or 'next week'."

The comment made Finn laugh a bit, as he could easily see himself procrastinating the whole thing.

But he was determined.

"I'm not gonna let it slip by. We'll see how things go..."

Marceline looked onto the path into the vegetation that FP and PB disappeared to, and the gesture invoked Finn to do so as well.

"Yes we will..." Marceline said.

* * *

"Bonibel, where are we going?" FP asked. PB was leading her down one of the many pathways of the cavern. Bubblegum shrugged at her question.

"Wherever. I just wanted to show you around the cavern, you've never been here right?" She asked.

"No... It really is a beautiful place. Finn said it belonged to someone named... Um..."

"Gravy?"

"Yeah, him. It's crazy this whole place is his."

"It belonged to his ancestors, which is probably why he wants the place void of anything when we're finished."

"I see..."

They both came upon a clearing in the vegetation. It contained but a simple bed of grass, and that of a statue. It was of a woman in a rather oversize cloak, wielding a greatsword over her head as if she was about to bring it down. It was lit perfectly by an opening in the ceiling, letting in sunlight.

Flame Princess took interest in the statue for a few moments, but discarded it when she heard PB take a seat in the grass. She took it upon herself to go and sit next to her.

"Flame Princess, I've been wanting to talk to you about... Everything I guess. Er, I suppose 'talk about' isn't a good way of putting it..."

PB looked at her.

"I wanted to apologize, for everything. I really mean everything. All I ask is that you listen to what I have to say."

FP looked straight back at her, and nodded assuredly. PB took a deep breath.

"It was my fault you were strung up in that lamp for your entire childhood- Um, I mean it's obvious it was my fault but, when I ordered your imprisonment I didn't think of you as a person. I thought of you as a weapon. I thought of all fire elementals as weapons...

I could have done something to give you a better upbringing, a better life... But I threw it all away for my selfish mentality.

And then you met Finn... And I tried to push you two away. I could have found a way to bring you closer together instead of tear you apart...

Pheobe, I'm truly sorry, for everything, and I want to make it up to you. let me be someone who you can rely on. Let me show you that I'm a different person.

Or at the very least, I hope you can forgive me for all that I have done."

FP held onto her words tight. Her words felt true, she could almost hear a different person. It was a stark contrast to her deceptive nature that she has shown before.

And she was crying.

If it wasn't her character that was giving away how sincere she was it was the tears streaming down her face. PB quickly reached up to wipe them off with her sleeve.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't expect... To..."

"Do you really mean... All of that?" FP asked.

PB sniffled and wiped her face again.

"Yes."

"...What changed?" FP asked. It took a bit for PB to construct her reasoning.

"Finn's never really been the same since you two broke up. Looking back on him, and all he's done for me too, I guess you could say I felt the same as he did.

I was relieved when you two stopped dating, but after seeing how much he cherished you... It made me look back on myself too, and if my decisions were really the right ones."

Flame Princess was rather touched by her honesty.

"Bonibel... That really means a lot. Thank you for telling me, and being honest. I don't want to be on ill terms anymore either. I forgive you, and I'll be your friend."

"Really?" PB asked.

"Yeah. Let's start over." FP got to her feet, and motioned PB to do the same. When she stood, FP reached her hand out to her.

"I'm Flame Princess, ruler of the fire kingdom. It's a pleasure to- oh. Uh..."

She hadn't realized the feat would cause PB pain, and she cursed herself for gesturing.

But she took her hand regardless, and shook it.

"Princess Bonibell Bubblegum. It's good to meet you."

She couldn't hold her hand for long- even the short period she did would cause some rather serious burns, but she didn't care.

"...My bad." FP said.

"Pheobe, I really don't care." She said with a giggle.

"Thank you." PB added. Flame Princess nodded in response.

"We should get back." FP said, and they made their way back to the others.

"Hey you know, I'd like to hang out. We could just have a girls night sometime and you could come along." PB suggested.

"I'd like that." FP said.

When they reached the main path again, Finn and Marcy took notice and quickly approached them.

"So... Uh, everything alright?" Marceline asked.

"...Yeah." PB said, looking at FP. She did the same.

"We're cool." FP added.

Finn gave the what he thought was the biggest sigh in his life.

"Look I'd really like to hang around, but me and Marcy have stuff to do. We'll see you two later tonight." PB said. FP nodded.

"It's cool. We'll try to catch you later." Finn said.

"Okay, then we're off. Have fun!" PB said as she began to walk away. Marcy flew beside her, and before long they disappeared among the tents and crowd.

FP and Finn were now alone again.

"How'd it go?" Finn asked.

"Lava under the bridge." She said.

"Awesome." Finn responded.

"So, what should we do now?" FP asked. This queued Finn to bring out the map again.

"The next show doesn't start for a while... Let's just look around and see what we find?" Finn suggested. FP cheerfully nodded.

"Okay!" She said.

The next couple hours were spent wandering through the festival. They encountered countless more street performers- some weren't even magicians. There were magic shows and performers with skill toys.

They would occasionally encounter a game booth, one of which involved slingshots and hitting targets. There was even a rock skipping contest down by one of the river ways.

Currently they were enjoying some more cotton candy, and they still didn't have a set destination. They enjoyed stumbling across something interesting, as well as being in each other's company.

"Mama! Mama!"

What sounded like a child's pleas caught their attention.

Surely enough, just around the corner, they found a young goblin girl, in the middle of the path wandering around aimlessly. She looked to be around four years old.

Flame Princess winced at the sight of her. She knew she maintained a particularly sinister reputation with the Goblin Kingdom, and knowing she could possibly frighten her was unsettling. Ducking behind the tent residing on the corner they wondered what to do.

"Hey FP, let's go talk to her." Finn whispered.

"Are you crazy!? I'll scare the life out of her!" She whispered back.

"Well what else should we do? She looks lost, we need to help."

FP still seemed unsure, but he was determined.

"Wait here." He said, and began to rush over to her.

"Wait Finn!" She tried to interject, but it was no use.

The girl was now sitting alone on a bench, head tucked into her knees.

"Hey..." Finn started. The girl took notice of him and almost choked.

"F-Finn? Finn the human?" She asked.

"Yep, that's me."

He keeled down so he was now eye level with her. She seemed to be relatively calm now that she was in his presence.

"What's your name young lady?" Finn asked.

"...Riana."

"Riana hm? What are you doing out here all alone Riana?" Finn asked.

"...My mom and dad disappeared. I don't know where they went."

"When's the last time you saw them?" Finn asked.

"...Twenty minutes ago." She said.

 _Yeesh. They're probably freaking out._ Finn thought.

"How's about we help you find them?" Finn suggested.

"...We?" The girl asked.

Finn tensed up.

"Uh yeah! You see I'm with a friend today. We can both help you!"

"Is it your yellow dog?"

"Uh... No. You see, she's a girl. She's really sweet and nice, and pretty, and she'll definitely help you."

FP was currently standing behind the same tent, listening to Finn. She couldn't help but blush at his compliments.

"Where is she?" The girl asked.

"Uhh..." Finn started.

"*GASP* AH!" The girl quickly ducked behind Finn for protection.

"What!? What is it?" Finn quickly asked.

"D-D-Demon lady! I saw the demon lady! Over there behind the tent!"

 _Shucks!_

FP regretted poking her head out to look. Of course she'd notice, she was made of fire!

Finn needed to improvise, the situation was not going well.

"Hey hey it's okay. You don't need to be afraid." Finn said, trying to comfort the girl.

"But I saw her! That's the lady my daddy told me about! She's gonna-"

"Hold on hold on, slow down. I just need you to listen to me, alright?" Finn said.

"...Alright." The girl said.

"What if I told you that girl I was talking about was the demon lady?"

"Wha!? No way! You said your friend was nice and pretty and stuff!"

Finn chuckled.

"You're right, I did say that, and it's really true! She's really nice and helps anyone in need."

"...Like you?"

"Uh, yeah! She _even_ runs a kingdom."

The girl gasped and cupped her cheeks.

"SHE'S A PRINCESS!?"

FP almost burst into laughter at the girl's reaction.

"Yeah! So what do you say? You wanna go meet her then we can help you find your parents?"

The girl almost jumped with urgency, but hesitated, remembering her previous assumptions.

"Okay, but just in case, you have to promise to hold my hand."

"Alright, promise."

The girl reached her arm out, and Finn grasped it gently. They came upon the corner of inevitability, and the girl took a deep breath before the proceeded, making sure to stay close to Finn.

When they rounded the corner, the girl was finally face to face with Flame Princess. FP herself didn't really know how to react, and just tried to give a smile and keep her flames controlled.

"H-Hi..." She nervously said.

Instead of running, like FP expected her to, the girl looked on with curiosity. Slowly, she let go of Finn's hand and walked closer to her.

"...You're not scary...

You're... Pretty." The girl said.

"R-Really? I-"

"Are you really a princess?" The girl asked.

Realizing she was being rather accepting, it made her feel more composed. She knelt down closer to the girl.

"Yes. My name is Flame Princess, princess of the fire kingdom."

"Woahhhhhh... Wait, aren't princesses supposed to have a dress and crown?"

Flame Princess giggled again at her reaction.

"Yes, but it gets tiresome wearing it all the time."

"Don't worry! I believe you!" The girl quickly said. It earned yet another giggle from FP. She couldn't deny the girl was adorable.

What's your name?" FP asked. She already knew, but decided it was appropriate to address it.

"Riana." She said.

"That's a beautiful name... Where are your mom and dad?"

"I... Don't know. They're gone and... I can't find them. Finn said you'd help me though!"

FP took a moment to smile at Finn, making him laugh nervously.

"Don't worry, we'll help you. Where did you see them last?" FP asked.

"We were watching some street performers at the plaza... But it got kind of crowded. I let go of my dad's hand and I couldn't find him again.

I thought I saw them wonder off this way... But it wasn't them." The girl seemed relatively frightened as she spoke.

"Alright, then let's head over to the plaza. Maybe they're still there looking for you." FP suggested.

"Okay! Could you two hold my hands so I don't get lost?"

Initially, FP was going to interject, but before she could utter a word they heard a voice calling out to the guests.

"Gloves! Get your gloves here!" The voice yelled.

Finn recognized it as that of Starchy, and he dashed to the stand as fast as possible.

"Woah hi there Finn! Interested in some-"

"YES! You got anything fireproof?" Finn asked.

"Uh- Yes! Here ya go."

Starchy handed Finn two blue oven mitts. They were the perfect size.

"Awesome! Thanks Starchy!" Finn tossed him the gold, not caring for any change.

"Good doin' business with ya!" He yelled.

Finn promptly returned to FP with the mitts, and handed them to her. She put them on and got a feel for them, they were a good fit.

"Thank you Finn." FP said.

"No prob." He responded.

The girl gave a puzzled look between the two, Finn and FP didn't notice.

"Okay, let's go." FP said, reaching her hand out to Riana. Snapping out of her thoughts she took it with her right hand, and took Finn's in her left. The group then continued on to the plaza, in search of some presumably very worried parents.

* * *

 **There ya go. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I apologize for my inconsistent upload schedule but work and school have just sucked lately. Also, I've been struggling to figure out where I want to take the plot, but I think I finally got a plan. Hopefully I'll be able to get updates out faster with a road map in my head.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey... Uh, excuse me?" Riana asked as she tugged on FP's covered hand. She acknowledged her with a smile.

"Yes Riana?" She said.

"Um, I'm sorry I called you a demon lady..."

Flame Princess giggled.

"It's okay, there's no hard feelings." She responded.

"It's just... My parents told me you were all these evil things and I listened to them..."

Flame Princess sighed. She stopped walking and so did Finn and Riana. The human remained silent the entire time, but he found no reason to speak up if otherwise asked. He enjoyed watching them talk.

FP knelt down again.

"Riana... I know what you mean. You'll understand as you get older that people's perspectives are different. We can't all think the same way, the world just doesn't work like that."

Riana lowered her head in disappointment, but FP (carefully) brought her hand up to her chin to raise it up.

"Go with your gut, do what you think is right. Just know that no matter what, I forgive you." FP said with a smile. Riana soon smiled too.

"Okay Thank you!" Riana said. They soon began walking again as well.

As they walked together, Finn at the right and FP at the left, holding Riana's hands in the center, they almost felt like...

A family.

They were both still relatively young, and the idea of having children never spurred any conversation when they were dating. But now, with these feelings, it became a much more prominent image to both of them.

"Finn..." FP said.

"Hm?" He responded.

"I really appreciate all of this."

"...Appreciate what?"

"Everything. Being my friend, taking me places, er, taking me here... It's been really fun."

Flame Princess looked at him directly, meeting his gaze.

"Y-Yeah. I like spending time with you, I'm glad to take you out."

"I don't think I've been any happier in my life. Not since-" FP cut off her speech suddenly.

"...FP?" Finn asked.

"Since... Since..." She struggled.

"Are you two married?"

Their faces went red instantly, and their faces shot down at Riana.

"W-What makes you think that?" Finn asked.

"Well you two sure _talk_ like you're married." Riana stated. Finn and FP's gaze went from their own, to Riana, then back again multiple times.

 **"Uhh..."** They both said in unison.

"We..." Finn started. He looked back at FP for a moment. She was expecting him to say no without hesitation, and Finn was expecting the same.

But neither of them did.

"...Used to be." FP said. At this point they all stopped walking again. They both had a hard time looking at each other.

"What do you mean?" Riana asked them both.

"Uh, her husband kinda messed up." Finn said.

"Wha!? What did you do?" Riana asked Finn.

"I... Lied." He said. Riana gasped.

"You're not supposed to do that! Lying's bad!" Riana huffed. Finn gave a nervous chuckle, scratching his head.

"That's good. You're right, lying is not okay.

But I told her I was sorry." Finn said, looking over to FP.

"I forgave him. We're still good friends." FP responded.

The young goblin looked back and fourth between the two.

"But... Why are you just friends?"

 _..._

 _..._

FP and Finn looked at each other again.

"It's complicated..." FP said.

"I don't get it though. If you forgave him then... Doesn't that mean you can get back together?" Riana asked.

"Don't you still love her? You love him too right?" Riana asked further.

Finn and FP were now stone cold. Finn swore he was shaking the earth with how much he was shaking, and FP felt like her core was going to explode any minute.

But the silence was broken again by that of Riana herself.

"Oh no! I'm asking too many questions... I didn't mean to." She said.

"N-no it's okay! You're just curious." FP said.

"Yeah... Uh, it's part of growing up." Finn added.

"Oh good! I didn't wanna reveal an earth shattering revelation or anything." Riana said.

 _She's certainly well-versed for her age..._ Finn thought.

"Finn, could I ask you something?"

"S-Sure. What's up?"

"...You had a plan for meeting her parents right?" FP asked.

"Huh? What do you-

...Oh." Finn said.

He had completely overlooked such an obvious detail. How were they going to react when they saw FP with their daughter? He didn't want to imagine.

He felt guilty forcing her into this situation. He figured it would be a good experience, but he still didn't check with her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of it..."

"It's okay. If we see them I can just... Uh, hide or something." She suggested. Finn clearly was not fond of the idea, and Riana gasped in response.

"What!? They deserve to know you helped me!" Riana said.

"Yeah FP that's not right, you shouldn't have to do that. Maybe I can just talk it out with them."

FP sighed.

"Riana, please give us a moment." FP said.

"S-sure." Riana replied.

They let go of her hands, FP then leaned closer to Finn to whisper. Riana backed off a bit to give them space, and shuffled her feet.

 _"These are her parents. They were there when- well, when_ _ **that**_ _happened."_

 _"But I... Maybe we could-"_

 _"Finn... Really, it's nothing. I don't need to be recognized or anything."_

 _"But It's more than that FP. I just..._ _I just wanted you to be happy."_

FP blushed, and the smile Finn always loved returned.

 _"I already told you, I couldn't be happier... I couldn't be happier being with you."_

Finn didn't have any words, he didn't know what to do. FP retreated back to her previous stance so she could address both of them.

"I'll just disappear, It's alright. I enjoyed spending time with her."

FP said, motioning to Riana. She was clearly flattered by FP's compliment.

"Are you sure?" Riana asked.

"Hmhm. Hey! There's another cotton candy booth. Do you want some?" FP asked. Riana's face lit up with anticipation.

"Would I!" She said with glee.

Finn eventually accepted the plan of action, though he wished he could work something else out.

Flame Princess having to hide from her parents just seemed off putting to him, but if she was contempt with it, he couldn't argue. It was the only plan he could think of.

He just wished this situation could have gone differently...

"Why don't I go grab some and you two wait here." Finn suggested. They both nodded, and Finn ran off to stand in line, while FP and Riana made their way to another bench.

They were now on the edge of the plaza. FP hadn't noticed until now, probably due to their uncomfortable conversation with Riana earlier.

"Do you see your parents anywhere?" FP asked as she looked around. Riana did the same.

"...No." She said.

"Don't worry, let's just relax for a second. They're definitely around here somewhere." FP said trying to comfort her.

"Thanks again for helping me."

"Hey it's no problem. You know... I feel like I owe you an appology too." FP said.

"For what?"

"For... You know, _the_ _thing._ "

"Oh... For the burning and junk?" Riana asked. FP nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't mean to, I was younger and- Uh, I didn't have a good grasp on things. I know that's not the best excuse, but it's all I got."

Riana giggled, a reaction FP wasn't expecting.

"I believe you! You're super sweet n' stuff!"

"Aw, thanks. I think you're really sweet too."

"But... I don't know if my parents are going to think the same." Riana said with disappointment. FP sighed, but her smile returned.

"It's okay, I understand. I really enjoyed hanging out with you."

"Yeah! I like you too! Finn's really lucky to have you as a friend."

FP's thoughts trailed back to the human, and she looked back at him, still standing in line. She rested her head ontop of her arms on her knees.

"...Finn." She muttered.

Riana soon grew suspicious at FP, and looked over to Finn. Then back to FP, then Finn again. It didn't take long for her to form a connection, and when she did, she let out a huge gasp.

"I KNEW IT! YOU DO STILL LIKE HIM!"

 _...Huh? Did Riana say something?_ Finn thought, and looked back at the two. FP had her legs crossed and seemed to be looking around, and it looked like Riana was attempting to whistle as she swayed side to side.

 _I guess not..._ Finn shrugged and faced forward again.

They both dropped the act when he looked away.

 _"Riana!"_ FP yelled in a whisper.

 _"I know I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!_

But you totally still love him! Eek! This is awesome!" She yelled in a whisper, kicking her feet.

"It's not like that." FP said.

"I feel like I'm in a romantic novel!"

"Urg, I said it's not like that!"

"Hehehehehehehehehe..."

FP sighed. (Again.)

"Riana... You better not say anything revealing."

The girl formed a smirk on her face.

"Only if you admit it!"

FP rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Riana was clearly getting a kick out of it.

"Fine."

"Yes!" Riana said as she fist pumped the air.

"But you gotta promise not to say anything. I actually wanna tell him tonight and... I want it to be special." FP said, and Riana saluted.

"Absolutely! Are you excited?" Riana asked. FP shuffled her feet.

"Um, a bit nervous..."

"It's okay, I believe in you! Just be yourself. Finn will be happy knowing someone loves him as much as you do!"

It was the simplest of advice one could give, but FP found it strangely comforting.

"Thank you. I really appreciate your advice." FP said. Riana in turn lit up at FP's compliments.

"Say... He's taking kinda long don't you think?" Riana asked. Flame Princess noticed too, the adventurer seemed to be held up retrieving their cotton candy, and Finn himself was beginning to get annoyed the line wasn't moving. Other guests began to complain as well.

"Come on man what's the hold- Huh?"

Finn peaked over to the side getting a good view of the booth. He could see another candy person, a doughnut, conversing with...

Two goblins.

One of them was a man, the other a woman, both looking of older age. He focused in, trying to listen.

"Please, I'm just looking for my daughter. We thought we saw her come down this way." The man said. Finn could barely make out his words but he managed. He didn't hesitate to break into a sprint, dashing back towards FP and Riana.

"Look I'm really sorry but I haven't seen her." The doughnut person said.

"Damn it... I let her hand go for one second and-" The father started.

"Honey it's not your fault, she's around here somewhere..."

FP and Riana noticed Finn sprinting back towards them. FP became immediately suspicious.

"Finn? What's going on over there?" She asked.

"I found her parents! They were at the booth!" Finn said. Riana immediately jumped up from the bench.

"Really!? Let's- Oh."

Riana initially became excited, but looked at FP with disappointment, knowing it was time for them to part ways. She simply smiled at her, and patted her head with her shielded hand.

"I guess our time's up." FP said.

"Will I ever see you again?" Riana asked.

"I'm not sure... Maybe one day..."

FP held her hand in hers.

"I won't forget you." FP said.

"Shoot! They're leaving, Riana we need to go." Finn said.

"Okay! I won't forget you either!" Riana replied to FP. She covered her heart in response, showing Riana she was thankful.

As an extra precaution, she flame shifted out of view, and she was gone.

"Let's go." Riana said. Finn nodded in response and took her hand. They had to do a light jog towards her parents as they gained a bit of distance.

"...Did we just lose our daughter?" The father asked.

"Please Joseph stop! We'll find her, just- huh?" The mother took notice of a voice yelling at them from behind. Upon turning around, they saw Finn the human running towards them, holding their daughter's hand.

The parents didn't hesitate to sprint towards them. Finn let go of Riana's hand, letting her be able to freely embrace her dad. He swooped her up and held her tight, and her mother joined in, barraging Riana with smooches.

"Mom! Dad!" She said with joy.

"Thank gob! I thought we lost you!" The father said.

"Don't ever wander off again honey." The mother said.

"Er... Guys... Too tight." Riana struggled to say. The parents immediately let up, and having had their reunion, set her back down, holding her hands. Their attention then turned back to Finn, who was enjoying their moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he could also see Flame Princess, hiding behind one of the many trees that littered the cave, watching on as well.

"Finn the human... Did you find Riana?" The mother asked.

"Yeah. We- I found her in the south district."

 _This isn't right._

"I'm sorry for wandering off... I was just looking for you." Riana said.

"It's okay sweetie. We're together again, that's all that matters." The mother said, then took a glance at Finn.

"Did you thank Finn here for helping you?" She added.

"Yeah! He was really awesome! So was-"

Riana cut herself off.

"Hm? So was... Who?

Finn was there someone else who helped her?" The father asked.

He remained silent. The father then palmed his forehead, as if he overlooked an obvious detail.

"Oh of course! Your yellow dog friend, I couldn't forget about him." He said. Riana looked up at Finn, with a saddened look. He simply nodded for her to go along with it.

"Y-Yeah..." Riana struggled to say.

"...Jake had a run in with a friend, we had to split up." Finn lied.

"Oh that's a shame. Just tell him we said thank you okay?" Her mom said.

"...Okay." Finn blankly said.

"Well, I guess we'll head off now. Thanks again Finn, you're really something special." The father said.

"Riana, what do you say we go take a walk by the river?" Her mom asked.

"Sounds fun, let's go." Riana said with a blank tone.

The parents waved goodbye to him, Riana did too.

It seems she had also taken notice of Flame Princess hiding away. FP was overjoyed, as Riana waved goodbye to her too, and also felt a bit embarrassed at her moving her lips saying 'good luck'.

Their time with her had concluded, and Finn made his way back towards Flame Princess, who was still behind the tree.

They were both now out of sight from the main road.

"Looks like everything went okay." She said.

Finn didn't talk.

FP noticed he still looked visibly sad from the encounter. It was clear he still felt guilty for all of this.

 _I don't want to tell you yet..._

 _But I can do the next best thing..._

"Finn..."

Flame Princess took both Finn's hands in hers, and he looked up, meeting her gaze.

"You mean the world to me."

Flame Princess leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

She made sure to make it quick, but her face still lingered close to his for quite some time.

Finn didn't know what to say.

"Hey... I know you said this wasn't supposed to be a date...

But... If you want... We could..."

She could feel Finn shaking in his shoes, and rightfully so.

 _What..._

 _What?_

 _WHAT?_

 _What do I say what do I say?_

Finn knew he had a bad habit of acting before thinking. He took a couple seconds to compose himself, Flame Princess let him take his time appropriately.

"Flame Princess..."

He held her hands as well, and kept his eyes fixed on hers.

"I would love to."

* * *

 **Update time. Let me know of any misspelling, inconsistencies, contrivances, other stuff.**


	14. Chapter 14

Finn was insurmountably conflicted. What did this all mean?

While, she did insist on asking him for a 'date', did that mean she still loved him? He kissed him too, twice now.

 _Let's just calm down for a second..._

 _'Dates' are different right? Dates are an experimental thing... They're for finding out if someone is right for you, if you have a connection. It's not like it means... What I think it means... Right?_

"Finn?"

"Huh? Oh sorry." Finn responded to FP's call.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No. N-Nothing. Just thinking."

 _If I address it again things are just gonna get awkward..._

 _Just go with the flow man._ Finn thought to himself.

That is, 'going with the flow' was proving a difficult task for him at the moment. His hand in hers, walking down the pathway now lit with cieling lanterns from the darkening sky, it was reminicent of their intimacy when they were closer... But now it was without the knowledge that she knew about his feelings, or him about her.

 _I want to tell you... But I'm scared out of my mind._ He thought.

Flame Princess felt asking him about it would be insensitive, as she knew he was trying to sort everything out.

Looking over at her again though, it became clear to Finn. He remembered Jake's previous words of advice.

 _Gob Finn... What are you doing? You're focusing on the wrong things. Don't let this all take away from why you're here..._

 _From why we're here._

 _I'm gonna make this the best date of your life._

"Hey FP?"

"Oh! Yes?"

"Let's go have some fun."

Finn took the initiative to guide her along with his hand. Flame Princess was a bit shocked by his sudden swing of mood, and was unsure where he was taking them, but she happily followed along.

They were once again amazed by the number of street performers that littered the paths. On one occasion they encountered someone playing plastic pipes, each with different lengths and creating different tones of sound.

FP insisted again on grabbing some cotton candy, she could almost say she was obsessed with it.

The first scheduled festivity they stopped at was an archery contest. There were five games; Eight guests would try to hit a target three times, and their scores would be compounded and compared against each other. FP and Finn arrived as the third game began to start.

Peppermint Butler was hosting the event, standing in a booth with a microphone.

"Contestants! Please make your way to your assigned position!" He shouted.

Finn and FP approached the fence, watching as some already registered guests made their way to the line.

Finn half expected to see Huntress Wizard, this basically had _her_ all over it, but she never showed up.

Finn was more surprised though, to see that of Gravy, who was making his way to the seventh position. Same getup he's always seen him in, mask and all. The crowd surrounding them could be heard muttering to themselves. FP became curious herself.

"Who's that?" FP asked. Finn leaned over to whisper.

"Gravy."

"What? _He_ owns this place?"

"Yeah, that's him. Not everyday he decides to go out in public though, he's kind of a hermit." He said.

Flame Princess now understood why the crowd was acting strange. The eighth spot was empty however, nobody approached it. Peppermint Butler took notice with minor confusion.

"Contestant eight?" He asked, but nobody came. Another candy person, a truffle, approached him and whispered in his ear. Listening intently, he nodded.

"It seems our eighth contestant is unable to participate at this time. Would anyone like to volunteer?" Peppermint asked.

Multiple people raised their hands, meanwhile Finn was leaning up against the fence, eyeing Gravy.

 _What are you up to... You old geezer..._ He thought.

"Please welcome the Princess of the Fire Kingdom as our eighth participant!" Peppermint said. The crowd cheered, and Finn was immediately caught out of his trance.

"WHAT!?" Finn shouted.

He looked to his left, Flame Princess wasn't there. He looked frantically around and realized she was making her way onto the firing range.

With the biggest smirk he had ever seen sprawled across her face, she flashed a wink at him. Finn couldn't help but blush, and unknown to him, FP enjoyed his reaction.

The same candy staff that addressed Peppermint Butler rushed down the line to give FP her bow, and some archery gloves.

"They're fireproof." The truffle said.

"Thank you." FP responded. She took her mitts off and put on the other gloves, and took hold of her bow. She drew it a couple times to get a feel for it.

Gravy took notice.

"Well you don't see that everyday." He said, and FP raised an eyebrow.

"See what?" She asked.

"Someone who knows how to draw a bow."

Flame Princess cleared her throat.

"Is that a challenge?" She asked.

"I guess we'll see, won't we." Gravy replied.

Peppermint announced each archer to fire their first shot sequentially; first, second, third, fourth, and so on.

None of the contestants managed to hit a bulls eye so far, either getting luckily close or hitting way off mark.

Gravy was next.

He drew his bow extremely quick, and fired a half second later.

The arrow landed dead center in the target, and Flame Princess, along with everyone else watching went silent.

It was so fast, she almost didn't have time to process it. Even more amazing was how he was able to hit the target with such accuracy.

"G-Gravy hits the bulls eye! Dead in the middle! Ten points!" Peppermint said. The crowd eventually cheered for his skill, Finn less so.

He was impressed, sure, but he was more interested in how FP would fair. He had never seen her use a bow before.

"Contestant eight! Fire when ready!" Pepbut said.

FP shook herself out of her trance, and focused on the target.

She grabbed the arrow, drew her bow, exhaled, and let it lose.

FP hit her mark exactly, hitting the bulls eye.

The crowd were too, impressed, applauding her. Finn was the most ecstatic, he clapped and cheered her on more than anyone else.

"Bulls eye! Ten points for Flame Princess!" Peppermint said.

"How's that for a challenge?" FP asked Gravy.

"Hm, impressive, I can't deny you have experience.

But we'll see how far it gets you."

FP huffed, and crossed her arms. Her frustrations were immediately dismissed though when she looked back at Finn, who she caught staring dazily at her before he quickly turned away.

 _Keep watching..._

The first six guests shot once more; number four, being a young slime person, managed to hit a bulls eye. It was clear he was surprised himself, and the audience applauded. Most were focused on the two at the end of the line, and if they could repeat themselves.

Gravy was up, and drew his bow almost faster than the shot before, hitting the center of the target once again.

The audience cheered, and FP became increasingly nervous.

 _Where did he learn to shoot like that..._

"Your turn, your majesty." He said.

 _Your majesty? I'll show you..._

FP pulled back her bow, taking aim.

The crowd grew dead quiet, allowing her to concentrate.

Letting the string lose, everyone gasped. When it struck the target, she was met with applause once again, hitting the center a second time.

"Ten points!" Peppermint said.

"Ah, a second time. Not bad at all." Gravy said. FP didn't respond this time.

"Well what did you expect?" FP responded.

The third round came, and everyone took their shots. Admittedly though, the rest of the participants were more interested in their two overqualified opponents.

"Number seven! It's Gravy's turn!" Peppermint announced.

The next sound that was heard was the arrow striking hay. He was too fast for the audience to even notice.

The audience cheered, prematurely however, as Gravy _failed_ to hit the bulls eye. Just shy of the center, his arrow barely struck the next zone over.

"...What?" He muttered.

"Oh my! Eight points for Gravy! Flame Princess is up next. If she achieves another perfect shot, she will win the game!"

She then turned back to the target.

 _Come on FP..._ Finn thought.

Drawing her bow, she let in some air, then exhaled, letting the arrow lose.

She feared she wouldn't be able to keep the streak going for a third time, but the arrow struck the center, just like the last two.

"Flame Princess takes the game with thirty points!"

Finn stuck out like a sore thumb with his cheering. He was waving his arms, screaming, complimenting, everything. She may have gotten recognition from everyone, but impressing him was the only thing she cared about.

Then she looked back to Gravy, who was still in shock that he missed.

But eventually, he shrugged.

"Guess I'm just getting old..." He said.

"Hey old man." FP said, Gravy turned toward her. She reached out her fist for him to bump it.

"We gave a good show." She asked.

Gravy set down his bow, and bumped her fist in return.

"Yes, I guess we did..." He said. FP nodded in response.

Everyone who participated began to make their exit out of the range. Upon seeing her, Finn rushed forward and hugged her, laughing joyously.

"Whoa whoa!"

"Flame Princess that was amazing! You're amazing!"

"Finn I'm burning you!"

Finn did have to let her go rather quickly, and he went back to holding her hands. FP didn't forget to grab the mits before she left.

"Like I care! You were totally awesome!" He said.

"Jeez come on- it was just a little-"

"I could kiss you right now!"

"R-Really!?"

"..."

"..."

"Uh... You know, like..." Finn struggled to say.

"...Here."

She motioned to a spot on her cheek. Finn hesitated doing so for a moment, but eventually racked up the courage.

He approached fast, made a light peck, then went back.

FP smiled at him for a time, and so did he. Their reunion was cut short when Gravy came out behind her.

"Well look who it is." Finn said.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." Gravy said.

"Dude what are you doing? I took you for an introvert." Finn joked.

"Well, if you're gonna set up your little playground on my turf, I'd might as well get in on a little of the fun. Especially if it's something I know."

Finn crossed his arms.

"How _did_ you learn to shoot like that?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've never seen speed like that before, even from my most experienced archers." FP added.

"Oh, it was a family thing. Tradition." Gravy said.

"I see..." FP responded.

"Ahem... well it was fun, but I'm still old. Gotta rest these old man bones." He said.

"Take it easy man." Finn said. Gravy began making his way back to his little lodge.

Finn felt FP take his hand again.

"So... What should we do now?" She asked.

"Why don't you choose this time?" Finn insisted, and FP giggled in response.

"You may have chose the contest but I basically had all the fun."

"Not _all_ of it. I had a lot of fun watching you."

"...You did?"

"Yeah! Really, you choose. Here."

Finn took the map out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"If you insist... Okay." She said. FP took the map and opened it.

There were a number of things available to do on the schedule, and FP looked on with curiosity.

"Actually, I'd like to go see some more street performers. Where do you think most of them are?" She asked.

"Here, let me see." Finn said, and FP made room for Finn to look.

"Probs where most of the shops are. I'm guessing they'll be in the west district." Finn said.

"Can we head over there?" FP asked.

"Of course, whatever you want." Finn confirmed.

FP handed Finn the map back and he put it away. She then reached out her hand, and Finn gladly took it in his.

As they made their way to the district, Finn couldn't help but admire the beauty of the cave once more. There were lanterns marking the paths, and the sun was setting at about this time. The sunlight that made its way into the cave created a warm orange hue throughout it, and it looked mesmerizing. The path they took was mostly empty save for a few wanderers and some people simply laying down in the grass, reflecting on the location.

"It's beautiful." FP said.

"I was thinking the same thing...

So, I know where Gravy learned to shoot but... Since when have you been so good with a bow? I've never seen you use one." Finn asked. Flame Princess giggled, as if remembering a past experience.

"I actually picked it up from Torcho. Saw him training our soldiers one day... I blame myself for saying 'bah, that looks easy, anyone can do that', I mean how much different could it be from shooting fireballs? ...So he made me do it, in the courtyard, in front of _half_ our archers. It was embarrassing."

Finn hissed in imaginary pain.

"...Ouch."

"But it sort of made me appreciate them more, being able to hone a skill like that. I wanted to show them I was able to do it too, so I practiced, and practiced... And practiced.

Torcho caught on to my little plan, but he offered to help me out. We made a mutual agreement not to tell anyone, and that he would also act like he didn't know when I decided to show off.

The looks on their faces were priceless." She said with a mischievous grin.

"Hahahaha, that's awesome. You know, Huntress Wizard is a pretty good shot too. Maybe you two could go at it some time."

Flame Princess' thoughts then wandered to that of the forest guardian...

"Have you heard any word back from her?" FP asked. Finn sighed.

"No, but I'm pretty sure she's taking care. I _never_ hear from her anyways, it's just how she is."

"Right then..."

The sound of drums became more prevalent as they approached the west district, so did the abundance of booths and guests. Soon other instruments could be heard, and eventually they started to see more performers across the paths.

They walked around admiring their creative acts. Finn enjoyed seeing what kind of gigs they came up with, and he was happy FP was intrigued as well.

Eventually they came across a fairly wide open field. Finn was surprised to see some of the house people made it to the festival, and they were playing string instruments creating very pleasing and comforting music. Many of the guests were picnicking in the open area, and suddenly, Finn's heart stopped.

 _This... This is it..._

Little known to him, FP's did as well.

 _This is your chance._

""Hey you wanna-""

They both said in unison.

"S-Sorry." Finn said.

"No no it's fine, I was just gonna suggest we grab a blanket?" FP asked.

"Uh- T-That sounds like a great idea!" Finn said.

There was a booth handing them out for such an occasion, and they were complimentary. Finn took one, but FP stopped him.

"...Two." She said.

"Hm? We only need one."

"Dang it Finn just get two."

"O-Okay."

He grabbed two blankets, now they needed to find a spot. Finn insisted FP choose, and she led them towards the outer area.

"Here good?" FP asked.

"Yeah, it's... Perfect." Finn replied.

He laid the blanket down, and sat on it. He was still curious as to why FP had another one, she was still standing with it in her hands while looking fairly conflicted.

"Um..." Finn said.

"Here." Flame Princess sat on the blanket and crisscrossed her legs. She took the other, unfolded it a bit, and set it on her lap.

Finn was confused as to what she was planning, until she saw her pat the blanket with her hands.

"Are you...?" Finn muttered.

"Gob Finn just... Come on." She said, patting the blanket again.

Finn hesitantly moved over and lied down, resting his head on her lap.

FP didn't really know how to continue after that. Luckily, Finn took the initiative.

"This is really nice." He said.

"You think so?" FP asked.

"It's... Warm, and comfy."

 _Just shut up and get to the point man._

"So... Flame Princess. I've been meaning to tell you something. I've wanted to for a long time now. But... I don't really know if it's right for me to say."

FP looked down at him with wonder.

"I don't really know how you'll react... But I just want to get it off my chest." Finn said.

Flame Princess brushed Finn's hair back ever so carefully.

"The thing is... I have something to say too, a lot like what you're talking about." FP said.

They both went silent for a moment.

The violinists filled the air with their soothing sound.

To make it even more fitting, the ground began to light up with bright green lights. It had gotten darker out, and the prevalence of their glow became even greater.

Then they took to the air slowly, they were fireflies.

Finn didn't want to address it, rather, he just wanted it to attribute to the importance of what he was about to say.

Flame Princess thought the same.

"Would you like to go first?" Finn asked. FP shook her head.

"You." She simply said.

Finn nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Flame Princess... I know what happened... Happened... But, I never wanted to forget. I couldn't. I tried, but... You were just so special to me. You filled me with so much joy and happiness... I could never let those feelings go. I remember every burn, every hug, every kiss.

I can't stop thinking about you. It's... Because I..."

Finn looked up to her. Her eyes were glimmering, her hair was twirling. Looking at her right then and there, it gave him the courage. Because this was why.

"I love you. From the bottom of my heart. You're my princess, you're my flame.

You're my everything."

The next thing Finn felt wasn't gratification. It wasn't depression. It wasn't sadness.

It was pain. A small drop of lava fell on his cheek, and he quickly jumped up from the burn.

"Yowyowyow!" He yelled, waving his hands on his cheek to try and cool the point of contact.

When it stopped, and he turned back around, Flame Princess was in a state of utter shock. She looked at him wide eyed, with tears running down her cheeks.

But then it turned into one of sadness, as her eyes slimmed, and she looked down.

"...Why?"

"...What?" Finn asked. FP looked at the burn mark from her tear, and it also lead to her eyeing his arms, blistered from the hug he gave her. Then the other burn on his cheek from her lips.

"All this time... I've caused you pain. Pain... Every time we get close. How can you still love someone... Who hurts to touch?"

Flame Princess looked down, but Finn closed the distance between them. He slowly slipped one of the mitts off her left hand.

He then put it on, and used it to raise her head up to face him, holding her by the cheek.

"You're not wrong. It does hurt... I want to act like it doesn't, but it's the truth..."

FP brought her left hand up to grasp Finn's touching her cheek.

"But it's who you are, and I love who you are. I told you I would defy nature for you, and I will. A thousand times over."

"Finn..."

She took his covered palm and brought it down. She then took her other, and held Finn's with both her hands.

"I've never felt the same since then... Every day... It was like something was missing. When you came back... When we raided that dungeon together, when we hung out in the forest...

When you took me here, I've never felt fuller.

That something was you Finn.

I love you. I love you so much."

They both smiled gleefully. They were both ecstatic, full of insurmountable joy.

"I... I know I'm really busy now. I won't be able to see you as often..."

"It's okay. I'm willing to wait, I want to wait. If I'm waiting for you, it's all worth it."

Flame Princess took the blanket off of her lap, unfolded it quickly, then flung it around Finn. It surprised him, but realized it was just to make way for the loving hug she offered. Holding him tight, she nuzzled her head into his chest.

"I love you Finn."

"I love you FP."

* * *

 **So I wanted to thank everyone for the support. Didn't really expect this story to gain traction at all really but it's seriously awesome you're all enjoying it. I'll try to keep at it; keep me posted on errors.**


	15. Chapter 15

They didn't want to do anything else.

Finn sat there, still covered in the blanket FP flew over him, as she leaned against his side. His head lay atop of hers, as it was snuggled comfortably in the crook of his neck.

They held their hands, watching the fireflies as the violinists' gentle stringing swept over the cavern.

Their intimate moment was interrupted though, when Finn spotted Marceline hovering by, carrying somewhat of a bag. She ended up spotting them, and they both quickly separated.

She didn't know yet, and seeing them like this was just going to make it weird.

Hovering over to them...

"Hey guys!" She said.

"H-Hi Marcy." Finn said.

"What are ya up to?" She asked.

"Just chilling... I guess." Finn said.

"Cool. By the way, nice shooting FP."

"Oh, you saw that?" She asked with a slight blush.

"Heck yeah I saw it! Someone said you and Gravy were duking it, so me and Bonnie gunned it over there. You two were awesome."

"Hmhm, thanks." FP said.

"Where is Prubs anyways?" Finn asked. Marcy tried to hold back a laugh as she slapped her head.

"Oh man! Some wise guys decided to get loaded, like _super_ loaded. PB had to throw em out from all the ruckus they were causing."

Finn and FP looked at each other with slight confusion, then looked back at Marcy.

"Loaded?" Finn asked.

"What does that mean?" FP added. Marceline cleared her throat.

"Uh, I'll tell you when you're older."

Finn huffed, meanwhile FP giggled.

"I'm seventeen Marcy!" He protested.

"Nope, still not old enough." She said.

"Ugh, fine." Finn pouted. He was curious as to what Marcy had in her bag. The shape and width confirmed it for him.

"You wanna tell me where you got those records though?" Finn asked.

"Yeah! The tent right over there."

Marceline pointed to a tent located to their right. Guests were walking out with the same bag Marcy had, which confirmed it.

"I'm tight with the guy selling them, he'll give you a discount." Marcy said.

"Math! -Uh..." Finn then looked over to FP, who was smiling at him.

"It's okay, go look. I'll stay here."

"Thanks FP! I'll be back in a flash!" Finn said, then dashed toward the tent. Marcy and FP were then left alone together.

"So... Did Finn tell you about..." Marcy started.

"Yup." FP responded blankly.

"Ugh, look I'm real sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop- Well, I did, but I wouldn't have if I had known-"

"It's okay."

FP then turned toward her.

"Finn laid it all out for me. I know you two joke around a lot... It was just a 'wrong place wrong time' sort of thing. No hard feelings." She said.

"Thanks FP. Did you ever find the culprit?" Marcy asked.

"...Yes. And I wasn't surprised."

"Who was it?"

"Mister blue himself."

Marceline face palmed, and gave the biggest grunt FP had ever heard.

"Ugh... Simon what the hell..." Marcy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. FP was confused.

"...Simon? Wait is that Ice King's... Hold on do you two know each other?" FP attempted to put two and two together, and Marcy continuously nodded.

"Yes. We're old friends, though it's kind of one sided right now."

Marcy sighed.

"He helped me out of a rough spot... Uh, I'd like to spare the details."

FP looked at the ground, a bit shameful. She wouldn't have hesitated to roast him alive right then and there.

 _Finn was right..._

"Oh don't feel bad. You have every right to be angry- Just know that Simon's a good person, I know he's a good person... It's not his fault." Marceline said.

"Er, anyways..." Marcy said.

"Anyways..." FP responded.

"How are you liking the festival?" Marcy asked.

"It's great! I've had a lot of fun. It was nice to see Bonnibel, and me and Finn-"

She cut herself off with a blush, Marceline grew suspicious.

"We uh... We got back together..." FP said.

"YES!" Marceline shouted with a fist bump. FP was surprised by her reaction, it seemed a bit much. Marcy also caught on to herself, and laughed nervously.

"Uh, I'm just... Happy for you two."

"Hmhm, thank you."

"I... Just haven't had the best luck with relationships. It makes me glad you two still want to be together."

FP remembered her conversation with Finn about Marceline's experience.

"Finn told me about him..." She said. Marceline's thoughts trailed off to that of her crummy boyfriend.

"Ash was the worst. Actually, a lot of my relationships were. Finn though..."

Marceline looked over to the tent, where she assumed he was curiously sifting through records.

"He's really something. Believe me, take it from someone who's a thousand years old, you're _never_ gonna meet another person like him.

The guy's willing to go against the elements for ya. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is."

Flame Princess held tight to Marceline's advice. It made her think, made her question herself.

"I hope one day... He won't have to go through that anymore." FP said with hopefulness.

"Hey, this is Ooo! I haven't got a doubt there's a way. You just have to find it." Marcy said. FP simply nodded her head.

While their conversation was happening, there was a seemingly aggressive sound starting to fill the air. It was a drummer, back near the main path.

"That drummer..." FP mentioned.

"Yeah I noticed, that guy's crazy." Marcy said, taking notice of the sound as well. Whoever was slamming on the drums was crazy fast, and it peaked both of their interests to check it out.

* * *

Meanwhile inside of the tent, Finn was swiftly digging through racks of records looking for anything he might like. He eventually found one of the Muffintop's records, and decided to take the plunge. They did make quite the impression on him.

He felt a tap on his right shoulder.

"Huh?"

He turned around and was met with Princess Bubblegum, who gave him a playful wave.

"Yo." She said.

"Hey Prubs! What are ya doin' here?" Finn asked.

"Looking for Marcy. Someone said she wandered in here."

"Oh, we saw her on the way out. She's with FP right now."

"Thanks a bunch Finn." PB said, and made her way out.

"Wait a sec." Finn said, and PB turned around.

"I need to talk to you." He added.

* * *

"Dude this guy's crazy!" FP said, as she watched the drummer. He was a pancake wearing some sunglasses, nonchalantly pulling off an insane drum solo. It was rather humorous, but also impressive. He was drawing in quite the crowd.

"I'm gonna go get Finn!" FP said, and she quickly ran off toward the tent to get him.

She stopped in her tracks, just outside the tent, when he heard him conversing with someone. At first she was just going to pass it on and get him, but she didn't.

Princess Bubblegum's voice spiked her curiosity, as well as Finn's tone.

* * *

"What's going on?" PB asked.

Finn took a deep breath.

"Okay, so... Me and FP sort of... Decided to... Try again."

PB tilted her head.

"Try again?"

Then she gasped, as the realization hit her. She flung herself towards Finn, and enveloped him in a hug.

"Agh! PB!" Finn struggled to say.

"I'm so happy for you two! Congratulations!" PB said.

Flame Princess giggled, and she was glad- as well as Finn, that Bubblegum really did approve of their relationship.

"I- Okay! Thanks- thank you. Really... But there's something else..." Finn said.

"Oh." PB quickly let go of him, and cleared her throat.

"Yes?" She added.

"Look... My mind's kinda been all over the place and I haven't really found room for this... But I need to tell you, and I need help."

 _Help? What's he talking about?_ FP thought.

PB realized Finn was on a rather serious subject matter.

"I promised her that I would be completely honest, even before we decided to be close again... But I've been keeping something from her." Finn said.

 _...What?_

"Finn... You know how she feels about honesty-"

"I know, and I want to start with a clean slate. I don't want to hide anything else from her.

I've done it enough, and I'm sick of it."

 _Oh Finn..._ Flame Princess almost went inside right then and there. She wanted to tell him it was okay, that she forgave him...

But she couldn't, not while she didn't know.

"Lay it on me." PB said, and Finn nodded.

"A couple days ago, when I went to go see FP, Cinnamon Bun pulled me aside for a talk."

 _CB? What does this have to do with him..._ FP wondered.

"...Okay?" PB confirmed.

"He uh... Told me he's gonna pass away, in due time." Finn said.

PB put a hand to her mouth in shock.

"I... I see...

I... didn't think it would happen this soon. His material is more fragile than the others but... I didn't know it was going this fast...

But why? Why did he tell you?" She asked.

"He wanted me...-

A crackle.

"To..."

And another one.

Finn knew what happened, he was still in shock to turn to the entrance. PB's face went almost pale, as they looked at each other with remorse.

As they looked toward the entrance of the tent, they were met with Flame Princess. She was burning brighter, her hair was violently whipping around, and her face...

It was almost deformed, caught between her normal human-like features and that of pure fire.

"Flame... Princess..." Finn muttered.

She didn't speak.

Rather, she approached them, slowly, and Finn knew what was coming.

She slapped him with so much force he was thrown to the ground. PB jumped back in shock, holding her mouth.

Finn looked up at her, his scorched cheek in full view.

"...Why." FP muttered.

"I... I..."

"Is this a game to you...?"

"FP... No..."

"Are you satisfied? With this?" FP asked, her face covered with tears.

"Do you enjoy doing this to me!?"

"Flame Princess that's enough!" PB yelled.

"No! Stay out of this!" FP threatened. PB almost felt herself melt from FP's radiating heat, as she was forced back.

"This isn't his fault!-"

"SHUT UP!" She shouted. Bubblegum was backed against the tent wall, as she was silenced.

"FP please... Let me-" Finn started.

"You promised me... I trusted you... I thought you were my friend..."

Finn was beginning to cry.

"Wait..." He muttered.

"I hate you." Flame Princess muttered, and she took off out of the tent, leaving fire bits in her wake. Guests became curious by the commotion and approached the tent, crowding the entrance. Marceline barged in with a worried look, seeing her friends on the floor in shock.

"Are you two okay!? What happened!?" She asked, rushing to help PB up.

"...Flame Princess. She..." PB started, looking at Finn. Marceline then turned toward him, and was disheartened.

He looked completely steamrolled, as if he was still trying to process what happened. Suddenly he sprung up, and attempted to run out of the tent. PB quickly grabbed his arm.

"Finn wait."

"NO!" He yelled, as he jerked his hand away from her.

"She needs time-"

 **"I am not losing her again!"**

Finn looked down at his trembling hands.

"I know I'm being selfish... I know she's mad... I know she definitely doesn't want to see me right now...

But I have to talk to her." He said.

PB lowered her arm to her side, and sighed.

"If that's the case... Let me do it." Bubblegum said. Finn was surprised at her offer.

"Let me set it straight Finn." PB said, this time more urgently. Finn wanted so desperately to see her himself... But knew he'd probably be completely fried on the spot.

He held his head in shame, but managed to make out a nod.

PB put on a look of determination, and rushed after her.

She knew FP left a smoke trail whenever she flew off. She prayed she didn't leave the cave, and she was glad to see she had flown off into one of the forests.

She sprinted after her, not being detoured by any obstacle in her path.


	16. Chapter 16

She flew quite a ways, the cave spanned a great length and when he thought he was nearing the end of the trail, it just kept going.

Eventually it had disappeared, and Princess Bubblegum was now going blind.

She scavenged the forest for a great deal of time, she swore she was at it for about a half hour.

Then, she heard sobbing. It was definitely her, PB made her way toward the sound. It became louder as she approached, and eventually, she began to make out that of a glow. An orange aura was illuminating the surrounding vegetation.

Then she spotted her. Kneeling on the ground hung over, her head buried in her hands.

"Phoebe..." Bubblegum muttered. FP flung her head towards her.

Bubblegum half expected a fireball, at least something of an angry shout, but nothing came.

She was sad... FP looked at Bubblegum with a look of need, something to hold on to.

"Finn... Where is he?" She asked. PB was alarmed. She didn't sound angry... At all. Her entire deminour changed.

"...He's still at the tent." FP hung her head again.

"Finn only wanted to-"

"I know." FP said cutting her off.

"I... Overreacted. It wasn't right of me to say... Any of that...

I was just so... Angry... I wasn't thinking... I... Wasn't...

I lost him... We were... Finally... And I blew it..." FP said in between sobs.

PB slowly approached her, reaching out her hand.

"That's not happening." She said, and FP lifted her head up.

"I don't know you two as well as you know each other... I don't know who's justified, I don't know anything about this... But I do know one thing. You know what Finn's thinking right now? He thinks _he_ lost _you_."

PB further extended her arm out for FP to take it. She looked up at her in disbelief.

"You can still fix this. Let's go see him, together." PB said.

Flame Princess looked at her for a few moments, contemplating whether her and Finn were still salvageable.

Would he really forgive her? After what she said, after what she did?

 _I don't want to lose you... So just give me another chance, alright?_

She took PB's hand, and she helped her up. It burned her, but she didn't care in the slightest.

She wiped her face clear of the lava and breathed a couple times.

"Okay. Let's go." FP said.

They began to make their walk back, but suddenly, they felt the earth below them shake.

That's when they heard it. An explosion.

PB thought it had been the fireworks they had planned, but the possibility was immediately gone from her mind, as a cloud of smoke appeared on the ceiling of the cave.

Then, a huge chunk of rock fell, plummeting and colliding with part of the festival, destroying anything that laid below it.

Flame Princess heard a scurrying in the bushes behind her.

All she could make out was a bow, and her instincts kicked in.

"Bonnibel!

FP pushed PB out of the way, just narrowly dodging the arrow. FP was now down on the ground, and couldn't dodge the other that was sent straight towards her.

It collided with her, and caused a blue explosion, making FP skid across the ground to a stop. PB was knocked into a tree by the resulting recoil.

"Eugh..." She muttered, rubbing her head. Once she came back to her senses, she frantically looked for FP.

She was still down, and her flame had disappeared. She was now a dark maroon...

"Phoebe!" She yelled, but her priorities were then turned to the man. He shot another arrow at her, and she dived out of the way. The explosion- this time orange, was much more powerful and managed to bring down the tree. PB was flung to the ground.

Now having a full view of the man, bow drawn, Bubblegum took the risk.

"Laser gun!" She yelled, drawing a pink gun from the back, and disarming her foe before he could shoot again.

He held him at gunpoint, and he didn't move. She was now fully able to make out his features.

He wore a black robe, gloves, ragged pants... His face was covered by a white mask, a spiral imprinted on it, and a spike protruding from the center.

"I didn't expect that..." He said.

"I'm full of surprises." PB replied.

"So am I."

Another voice, female, came from behind her.

Before she could react, she was captured in a headlock and was disarmed.

She struggled to break free but it was no use. Managing to look over her shoulder, the woman holding her wore the same mask.

The man began to walk slowly towards FP, and PB struggled further.

"What did you do to her!?"

"It won't matter anyways."

The man brought out a dagger, and PB's eyes widened.

She was vulnerable in this state, he was able to kill her on the spot.

The girl herself was beginning to wake, murmuring from pain.

He leaned over her, and brought the dagger up to prepare a strike.

FP realized what he was doing but was too late. She shielded herself with her arms.

"PHOEBE!"

An arrow struck the man in the back, and he fell over. PB felt something hit the woman behind her, and soon she fell as well. She looked everywhere to see where the shots came from, until she locked on to two glowing green eyes in the treeline.

"...Huntress Wizard?" PB asked shakily.

The huntress dropped down, and hurried over to Flame Princess, who was struggling to get up. PB ran to her aid as well.

She looked physically fine aside from her extinguished state.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" PB asked as she helped FP sit up. Huntress handed her some wood for her to consume.

"We're under attack." Huntress said, as she looked to where the ceiling collapsed.

"I never thought they'd go this far..." Huntress muttered.

"Who? What are you talking about? Huntress!?"

"I-I'm sorry! I don't have time to explain... We need to evacuate the festival, now."

An explosion. Another large chunk of the ceiling fell to the ground, crushing part of the north district.

"Gob..." PB muttered.

Something else was off... FP wasn't getting warmer.

Flame Princess began to panic, she wasn't absorbing it.

"W-What? What's going on? I can't take it." FP asked. PB brought out some kind of scanner device, and pointed it at her.

She gasped.

"Uh oh..." PB said.

"What? Bonnibel what is it?" FP asked.

"It seems... Your core's been ruptured. It just... Stopped." She said. Flame Princess trembled from the realization.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?" PB asked.

"I feel fine just... A bit cold."

"Can you stand?" PB asked further.

FP shook herself out of her trance. She had to worry about it later, there was no time.

"I- I think so..."

PB helped her up, and while she did stumble at first, she regained her footing easily. Still a bit light headed from the sudden change, but she could walk.

"Let's go." FP said. The other two nodded, and made a sprint back to the festival.

Princess Bubblegum brought out somewhat of a walky talky, and pressed the mic button.

"Peppermint! Peppermint come in!" She pleaded desperately.

"Peppermint!" She yelled one final time. After seconds of continuous static, she heard a click come through the speaker.

 _"Princess!"_

It was Peppermint Butler's voice, and PB gave a sigh of relief he was okay.

"What's happening? Is anyone hurt!?"

 _"We're being attacked! Masked men are- Ah!"_

"Peppermint Butler!?" She yelled again. There was some kind of commotion on the other end.

 _"Hamafolcamuladia!"_ Peppermint yelled. She heard a scream on the other end, and an explosion ensued.

 _"I'm... I'm okay. The banana guards are here- where are you!?"_

"I'm on my way." PB said.

"What about Finn!?" FP asked urgently. PB nodded, and pressed the button again.

"Where's Finn!? Marcy? Are they okay!?" PB asked.

 _"They're holding them off as we spea-"_

The radio cut out.

"Peppermint!? Damn it!"

She stuffed the radio back in her pocket. They were relieved to hear Finn, as well as Marcy were okay for the time being, though FP was worried from the set of circumstances...

"Huntress!" FP called. She was leaping across the treeline above them.

"Those people! Are they who attacked him?"

"I'm afraid so..." Huntress replied.

FP became more worried. Finn could barely hold off one of them, now there was what sounded like an army. Her powers were gone as well...

"He was attacked!?" PB asked.

"We'll have to catch up later Bubblegum!"

"- Right!"

They were now nearing the festival, and the sound of clashing steel became more prevalent.

Coming into view, the west district was covered in rubble, along with a giant chunk of the ceiling having crushed many of the booths and tents.

There were banana guards everywhere, fighting off the same threat FP and PB dealt with in the woods.

There weren't nearly as many of them as the guards, but they were still winning. Banana guards were strewn about the ground everywhere, some presumably dead, others injured. They were no match for their prowess.

One of them was about to be fatally sliced by the men, and PB drew her gun to shoot him. He was knocked back, and Huntress delivered the fatal blow with one of her arrows.

PB rushed to aid the guard.

"The... They..." He said.

"Medic!" PB yelled, and two guards hastily approached them coming from a group of three, the other staying behind to help someone else.

"Talk to me." PB said, as she aided the medics.

"The ceiling exploded... They... Strung themselves down... And they attacked everyone in sight..."

PB furrowed her brows, trying to think of their intentions. Was this supposed to be a massacre?

"We need to find Finn and Marcy!" FP yelled.

"There!" One of the medics yelled, and pointed towards a growing black mass in the trees.

It was Marceline growing into her beast form, and Finn was on top of her, with his sword ready.

The perpetrators were jumping up, trying to attack him. Finn blocked and kicked them off Marceline's form, as she clawed at the enemies. She managed to take out a couple, but there were still more. She was getting barraged with arrows, and Finn had to duck to avoid being hit.

"Why you little...!" She yelled. Marceline sprouted her wings, and used them to start spinning herself rapidly, creating a vortex of wind. It flung them back, knocking some of them unconscious.

"Finn..." FP muttered.

Another explosion, this time directly above them. FP, PB, and Huntress all looked up to find several chunks of rock plummeting towards them.

Shielding themselves from the inevitable fate, they were met with a huge crash.

But it didn't crush them. Looking back up, they found a huge yellow figure, holding up the tons of rock.

"Hey guys... Sorry I'm late." Jake said.

"JAKE!" Everyone yelled with joy. Though, the dog was a bit hurt from the impact. He tipped over to allow the rubble to fall, and shrunk down to his normal size.

"Me and Lady were helping Gravy evacuate!" Jake said urgently.

"Quick! Get everyone out of here!" PB said. They were starting to become surrounded by the masked foes...

PB growled, and cracked her knuckles.

"We'll hold them off..." She said.

"Roger!" Jake saluted, and rushed toward the downed Banana Guard and the medics.

"Hang on guys!" He said as he picked them up. The masked people began readying their bows to shoot at him, but were cut off by Huntress' arrows and PB's laser gun.

"Everyone hop on!" Jake shouted to the cowering guests. They quickly boarded Jake's stretching form, and he continued to scan for more innocents until he was outside of his friends' view.

Flame Princess didn't know what to do. Her powers were gone and there were enemies on all sides. She narrowly avoided a slash from one of them as she ducked. Another, and another came fourth, and she dodged out of the way. She lost her footing however and fell to the ground.

"FP watch out!" PB shouted.

Then she gasped, remembering she still had an ace in the hole.

 _The ring!_

She summoned her sword, and it narrowly blocked the strike. She then swept her leg under her attacker, and he tripped.

FP stabbed him while he was down, and he went limp.

 _Thanks Finn..._

 _-!_

She had forgotten the hero was preoccupied elsewhere, and as she looked to check on him Marceline was being brought down. He fell off, along with the ground shaking from her form colliding with the ground.

"Finn!" FP yelled. She tried to run after him, but was stopped in her tracks by two of the masked swordsmen, blocking her way.

An arrow flew straight past FP, and into one of her foes. She gasped, and looked back to see Huntress took one down for her, but still had to deal with more of them.

FP took the chance and rushed forward for an assault, but it was easily challenged by the man.

She had more mobility and strength with her powers, but she was limited now. He released and readied another strike, that of which FP hastily blocked. She was being driven back, and their swords met again for another power struggle. Flame Princess had to put her other hand against the blade to support it.

She persisted.

 _I'm... Not... Losing him!_

She didn't know how, but she managed to push back his blade. Her sword was in a position now where she could land a bash with the hilt. She forced her arm, and the hilt went straight into his face, cracking his mask. He screamed in agony, and one final slash silenced him.

She was about run to Finn and Marcy's aid, but something caught all of their attention.

The masked perpetrators seized attacking for a moment, and instantly jerked their heads in the same direction- south. It was almost as if something was calling their attention, all at once.

Then, they retreated towards it. Every single one of them sheathed their weapons and scurried off into the vegetation, disappearing from view.

"The hell...?" Huntress muttered.

The sound of a tree falling brought their focus back to their friends.

"Finn!"

"Marceline!"

Finn and PB each made a mad dash towards them, Huntress Wizard following suit.

When they arrived, they were relieved to find they were rather unscathed. Marceline was in her human form again leaning against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Finn was hunched over, leaning on his sword for support. He also looked completely floored. Though, they had a couple cuts and bruises here and there, they were considerably fine.

Marceline looked up and all she could see was pink. PB had practically slammed into her with a hug.

"You're okay!" She said.

"Yeah I'm okay... Glad to see you're in one piece too." Marceline replied.

As they broke off, their attention turned to Finn and FP, who hadn't said a word, nor done anything for that matter.

They just looked at each other.

"FP..." Finn said.

"Finn... I-"

The ground began to shake again, and Marceline hissed.

"Another one!?" She said.

"No... Look!" Huntress Wizard shouted, as she pointed towards part of the roof of the cave.

There was no explosion, but the integrity of the cave had been compromised, and the ceiling began to collapse. If they didn't move fast, they were going to be crushed to death.

"MOVE!" PB shouted, and they all sprinted towards the edge of the cave.

The falling rubble was starting to catch up with them. A stalactite from the ceiling fell and hit the ground, and the group had been split. Marceline and PB had to take the left, FP and Finn took the right. They had lost track of Huntress Wizard at this point.

Finn took hold of FP's hand, he didn't want them getting separated. They desperately tried to outrun and dodge the falling rock, while still looking for a safe way out.

As if it was a miracle, Finn spotted a smaller cave against the wall of the cavern.

"There!" Finn shouted. FP took notice too, and they ran as fast as they could to safety.

Flame Princess looked behind them, and noticed the wall of rubble was getting closer. A huge boulder almost crushed them from directly above, but Finn jumped forward, pulling her out of the way. They continued to run.

"Finn we're not going to make it!" FP said. Finn could hear their doom growing closer, and the increasing amount of pebbles pelting them only aided their fear. They were almost there, but he knew as well as she did they weren't going to live through this.

"We aren't." He said.

"What?"

He looked at her, with a confident smile.

"You are."

He tightened his grip, and pulled her forward. Then, he extended his grass arm to launch her further away. FP couldn't process what he had done until it was too late.

 _"I'm sorry."_

She landed inside the safe haven, and watched as Finn was crushed underneath the pile of rock.

The only thing that remained... Was the blade of grass, in the shape of a hand, protruding from the newly formed wall, illuminated by the little sunlight that made its way through the top of the rubble.

"...Finn?" She called.

There was no answer.

"Finn."

Nothing.

For a moment, she even considered Finn was sitting under there, dead.

But she passed it off as quickly as she could.

Flame Princess desperately tried to dig through the rock, to lift it, to do anything. But she was too weak, too exhausted. Even at full strength it was impossible to move.

"Someone! SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!" She yelled out of the opening.

"Please! Finn's stuck! He's going to die! He's... Going... Going... Finn..."

She fell against the floor, and covered her face, letting herself cry.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm... I..."

Her sentences became mumbles, not being able to control what came out. It was a mountain of regret, of hate, of anger.

How could she say those things? How could she, after everything he's gone through, everything he's done...

And yet he's still so selfless to throw away his life for her.

 _"I thought it came from over here..."_

"Huh?" FP's head sprung up as she heard voices coming from outside.

 _"I swear..."_

"Hey... Hey! Down here! Help!" FP pleaded. She couldn't quite make out who's voice it was, for all she knew it could have been a stranger.

 _"Down there!"_

It was a male voice.

And FP was glad to see a familiar face, even if it wasn't one she'd known for a while... Or even seen.

Gravy poked his head into the hole.

"Aye? Archer lady?"

"Gravy! Finn- he's trapped!"

Gravy quickly retreated from the hole, he shouted to get someone else's attention.

A moment of silence ensued, then she heard the sound of moving rock. It was Jake's hand, shoveling out the rubble.

 **"WHERE IS HE!?"** He yelled, in the most worried tone she'd ever heard from him.

"Here! Under here!" FP said urgently.

Jake didn't hesitate to shovel out more of the rock, desperately looking for his friend. Eventually, she was able to clearly see outside.

The roof of the grotto was gone, revealing the dawn lit sky. The ground was now that of rugged rock, with various citizens attempting to assist others out of the rubble.

Jake continued to dig out the area, and eventually PB, Marcy, Peppermint Butler, Huntress and Lady Ranicorn showed up as well.

"Flame Princess! What-

...Where's Finn?" PB asked.

It didn't take long for her to figure it out, with Jake digging up the rubble and FP's shaking form.

"No..." PB muttered.

 _He's okay..._

 _He's okay..._

 _Jake's going to find him... And he's going to be okay..._

"Come on man, don't leave you bro hanging man!" Jake said, as he pleaded desperately for him to be alright.

Flame Princess felt a hand on her shoulder, she didn't need to look to tell it was Bubblegum's.

 _I need you to be okay._

They all waited patiently for Jake to dig up... Whatever was underneath. Bubblegum had multiple banana medics standing by, prepared for the worst.

It was when Jake gasped, they all grew nervous. He had pulled one more time from the hole of rubble, and it looked like he was holding something.

FP slowly peeked over his shoulder, and put a hand to her mouth.

It was him.

He was battered, bruised, bleeding all over, but it was him.

"It's Finn! He's breathing! He's okay!" Jake shouted.

He carefully carried him up to the medics, and laid him down gently in their care.

"Glob he's critical! We need to get him to the kingdom fast!"

"EVERYONE GET ON!" Jake shouted, morphing himself into a mattress like shape, and everyone quickly boarded, including Gravy.

"Peppermint! I need you to stay here and oversee the recovery effort!" Bubblegum ordered.

"A-As you wish princess!"

"Hang on to your butts!" Jake announced, as he launched himself towards the Candy Kingdom. Lady Ranicorn flew next to him for support.

The medics remained next to Finn as they tended to his wounds as best as possible. FP did the same... And as such, was now exposed to the full extent of his injuries.

His forehead had a large bruise to the right side, there was a large cut just below his left eye, and his left cheek was swollen.

His left arm was littered with cuts and scabs, and his right...

She had to turn away, she couldn't bear to look at it.

His clothes were torn, giving way to more cuts across his body, and his right leg looked broken. All of these just the standout injuries from his torn body.

 _"F-...Fla..."_

She went wide eyed, he was trying to speak.

Flame Princess held his left hand tight. She was shaking, she was scared, but she wanted to be there for him.

"It's me, it's Flame Princess. I'm here." She said gently.

 _"Fl... Ame... Prin..."_

She gently stroked his hand, and he tried to open his eyes.

"I'm here Finn. It's okay... Just rest. It's okay."

He seized talking, and his breathing became somewhat more controlled.

PB and Marceline, both sitting beside her, reached their arms around for a comforting hug.

She couldn't hold it together anymore. FP sobbed into PB's shoulder, and she held her tight.

"Huntress... You owe us some answers." PB said. Huntress Wizard was looking over Finn as well.

Gravy, sitting on the edge of Jake's body, turned around to face them.

" _You_ know why the Barren attacked?" He asked, standing up.

"...Barren? You know those guys?" Marcy asked.

Huntress still remained silent.

"I _know_ them, I haven't the slightest idea why they decided to barge into my hole and DESTROY IT!" He shouted.

"Gravy please!" Bubblegum said. She motioned to FP, who was still against her shoulder.

"...Sorry." Gravy said.

"Gravy, we both have answers. Let's just say I know a lot of what you know... But I don't want to do this here."

"She's right. Finn's the priority right now. Let's get him to the kingdom first, then we'll figure this out." Marceline said.

While Bubblegum was desperate for answers, she knew getting Finn stabilized was of utmost importance.

"Alright." PB said.

Jake was moving fast, and the Candy Kingdom was on the horizon.

* * *

 **Yeah... That happened.**

 **Sort of went on a writing streak yesterday. Stay tuned for more updates.**


	17. Chapter 17

The sound of double doors slamming open echoed the hallway. Finn was on a stretcher, accompanied by Doctor Princess and her assistants, and all of his friends, FP still holding his hand.

"Bubblegum, I need word sent to the Fire Kingdom." She said.

PB quickly got the attention of an on duty Banana Guard as they passed by.

"You! Come with me!"

"Uh r-right away princess!" He said, as he broke into a sprint after them.

"What is it?" The guard asked, and PB pointed to Flame Princess.

"I need a message sent to the Fire Kingdom. Tell them there's been an attack and my friend's been hurt. I am also requesting Cinnamon Bunn's presence." She told him.

The guard was writing something down in a mini notebook as he ran with them, then shut it and saluted to them both.

"Right away your majesty- er majesties!" He said, and sprinted off into a different hallway.

"DON'T FORGET THE FIREPROOF PAPER!" PB yelled after him.

* * *

Finn currently resided in the emergency room, resting in the care of nurse Pound-cake and Dr. Princess. The others; Bubblegum, Marceline, Flame Princess, Gravy, Jake, Lady Ranicorn, and Huntress Wizard, all waited anxiously outside as their friend underwent vigorous procedures. Meanwhile, Peppermint Butler along with the Banana battalion assisted the rest of the guests back to the kingdom for medical attention.

They had calmed down a bit, but were still uneasy due to Finn's condition. PB held FP's hand for comfort, as she was among the most worried.

"I told him I hated him..." She said, at which PB shook her head.

"Don't do that to yourself." She said, as she gently stroked her back.

"But how could I? How could I say those things... Right after we told each other..."

Bubblegum didn't know how to respond, all she could do was comfort her. Jake was still in the dark about what happened between them, but he found it inappropriate to ask at the moment.

The sound of the door unlocking caused everyone to spring up from their seats. The door opened, and Doctor Princess came out, as well as Nurse Poundcake, undoing their face masks.

They all urgently waited the status of their friend.

"Finn's going to be alright." Doctor Princess said.

FP collapsed on the floor, as she tried to hold back more tears. PB knelt down with a hand on her shoulder.

"See?" She said.

"But... There's still the matter of his injuries." Doctor Princess said, and PB and FP stood back up.

"It's a miracle he wasn't crushed to death, the rubble left just enough of an imprint to keep him alive. That being said, his back sustained minor damage. His right leg, the femur, was broken as well."

The group listened attentively to the information in silence.

"We also... Couldn't save all of him."

"...What do you mean?" FP asked, at which, Doctor Princess stood aside, gesturing them to enter. After giving a nervous glance to her, FP entered, and everyone else followed.

FP gasped at Finn's state.

His right leg was suspended in a cast, and he was covered in bandages. His breathing seemed steady and so did his heartrate.

It wasn't until she walked around to his right side, she understood what Doctor Princess meant.

His arm was gone, there was nothing just below a few inches from his shoulder, save for some more bandages.

"The damage was too severe, we were forced to amputate it. I'm sorry." Doctor Princess said as she walked up behind the group. Bubblegum then faced her and grabbed her hand, holding it firmly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Finn's alive because of you, you have our utmost gratitude." PB said, and Doctor Princess gave a sincere smile.

"Besides, I can fix up a prosthetic for him. Finn'll be back killing ogres in no time." PB said.

"Do you know when he'll wake up?" Jake asked her.

"Right now he just needs rest. Give him a day or so, and he'll come to." She said.

"Thank you for everything Doctor Princess." Jake said.

"Just doing my job." She said, and Nurse Poundcake caught her attention from the doorway.

"Oh dear... It seems I'm gonna have to keep at it. Please take care." She said, as she left the room, seemingly to assist another patient.

Attention was turned back to Finn, along with FP, who was holding his left hand.

"You're all free to stay here for the night if you wish, I can accommodate." Bubblegum said to the group.

It had gotten late. With Finn's operations lasting a good amount of time and the time between the attack, they needed a place to sleep...

As well as clean up.

"I just need a shower man." Marceline complained, as she inspected herself.

"That would be nice." Jake added, in similar condition.

Meanwhile, FP remained silent. She was filthy as well, but she didn't have any way of bathing at the moment, nor access to her special clothing.

"Flame Princess, why don't you come with me." PB said, and Flame Princess looked back at Finn for a moment, as if hesitant to leave him.

PB approached her.

"Finn's not going anywhere. You need some help too, come on." She said further.

 _"I'll be back."_ FP whispered to him, and she got up and left with PB, whilist the rest of the group stayed in Finn's room.

"Hey, Gravy." Jake said, addressing the rather silent man in the room.

"What?" He asked.

"Uh... Look man- I'm really sorry about your home. I know me and Finn rag on ya a lot about keeping the place to yourself, but... This just sucks..."

He sighed.

"Aye... No, I'm fine. It's true it was my home but... There really was nothing left for me there, now that I think about it... I guess you could say I was too caught up in the past." He said.

Lady Ranicorn said something, and Jake quickly slammed a closed hand into his other.

"Hey yeah! You could always stay with us until you find a new place." Jake said, and Gravy laughed.

"Please you really don't have to. I find my own way, always do... I _would_ appreciate some answers though." He said, eyeing Huntress Wizard. His remark invoked some glances from everyone else as well, and Huntress sighed.

"You're right. It's high time I told you guys what the jonk is going on. I'll fill you in after you're all... Erm, refreshed." She said.

"...Fair enough." Gravy said, understanding.

* * *

Meanwhile in a different medical room, PB was running a scanner over FP, as she sat on a hospital bed.

PB sighed, as she inspected the device.

"Am I going to be okay?" FP asked.

"Your core isn't working, but the rest of your bodily functions seem normal." PB said.

"What does that mean for me?" She asked.

"I'm not as familiar with Fire Elemental anatomy, but I can only assume that right now... You're not that different from me, Marceline, or Finn." PB said, and FP looked at her hands, clenching and unclenching them.

"I don't understand... If my core's dead then how am I even still alive?" She asked.

"It's not exactly 'dead', more like dormant. It's still putting out energy, but it's as if that blast had negated all its erratic properties."

"Can it be fixed?" FP asked. PB sighed again, and she got up out of her seat.

"It should be, though... It may take time for me to figure out a procedure or cure." She said, walking over to a sink.

PB poured some water into a paper cup, and retrieved a gas lighter out of one of the drewers. She then sat down next to FP again, set the water down, and lit the lighter.

"...What are you doing?" She asked.

"A test. Just tell me if you feel any heat coming off of this." PB said. FP nodded, and she brought the lighter closer to her.

At first the warmth felt comforting, as she was considerably cold from the sudden change in her body. Eventually though, she was frightened, and quickly jumped away from the lighter.

The heat hurt, at least for a moment. It felt like she was hit with a drop of water.

"...No." FP muttered.

"Flame Princess..." Bubblegum handed her the paper cup, and FP was hesitant to take it.

But she had to know for sure if what was happening was really true.

She approached PB, and took the cup.

Dipping her index finger inside, she felt no pain, only the unfamiliar feeling of water soothing her skin.

"That's that huh..." FP muttered.

"Unfortunately." PB replied.

FP looked back at the cup, with a question irking her mind.

"Can... Can I..." As she lifted it closer to her mouth, PB caught on to her curiosity. She held a hand up, motioning for her to wait, and pulled up the scanner again.

"Okay, here's how I understand it. You're an elemental, just like me, slime people, etcetera. We are all able to eat a variety of foods... Fire Elementals however, are limited in this regard.

Your core is what feeds off your digestive system, anything you eat should have a positive reaction with it, else you're really not gonna feel good.

But... Now that your core's properties are gone..."

"Wait. So you're saying that... I can eat apples, sandwiches, or pie, and not get sick?"

"Theoretically yes."

"...And I can drink water?"

"...Uh. I would think so. You need some way of staying hydrated."

Flame Princess looked at the cup of water she was still holding.

"...Only one way to find out I guess."

Eventually she mustered up the courage to attempt it, and took a small sip of water.

It didn't hurt, but provided an uncomfortably unfamiliar feeling as it slid down her throat.

"How about that... How long do you think I'm gonna have to stay like this?" FP asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't know." PB said. Flame Princess gasped, as the scope of the situation hit her.

"My kingdom... Gob what am I going to do."

"What about Flambo? Can't you just ask him for a flame shield?" PB asked, and FP sighed.

"Taboo. Most of my citizens have already accepted me... But there will be civil discourse if I return like that, not to mention my vulnerability." She said.

"...I understand. Don't worry, I'll try to find a way to fix this."

"Thank you Bonnibel." FP said.

"It's no problem. For the time being..."

PB motioned to a bathroom just across the room.

"Feel free. I'll get some clothes for you." Bubblegum said. FP nodded, and PB proceeded to leave.

Flame Princess withdrew her dirty clothes, and awaited the shower to run warm. Once it got to a reasonable temperature, she stepped inside.

It was unnerving at first, but eventually she grew accustomed to the feel of the liquid as it flowed down her body.

It wasn't as thick as lava, it was much smoother. Actually, it was quite refreshing to her.

She jumped a bit as she heard a knock on the door.

"FP? It's me. I have clothes." PB said.

"Just leave them in front of the door, thank you." She said. PB opened the door a sliver, then set the clothes inside.

"Huntress is going to explain everything when Cinnamon Bun gets here. When you're done, meet us at Finn's room."

"Okay."

She heard the door close, and the faint sound of the second one leading out to the hallway soon after.

She slapped her face and rubbed the water against it, then grunted in frustration.

 _It's not all bad..._

 _At least me and Finn can get closer like this, even for a little while..._

 _I just want to see him._

 _I just... Want to see you, I want to see you look at me. I want you to tell me you're okay..._

Flame Princess eventually finished her shower and wrapped herself in a towel. Stepping out she noticed the clothes PB left in front of the door. It was a bright yellow nightgown, socks, and some other 'essentials'. She dried herself with the towel, put on her clothes, and made her way to Finn's room.

When she rounded the hallway, she immediately took notice of Cinnamon Bun, who was conversing with Princess Bubblegum along with the rest of the group. He didn't have his flame shield on, presuming it wore off.

"Cinnamon Bun?" FP asked. He perked up at her voice, and suddenly, Jake Two came rushing down the hallway.

"Flame Princess!" He called, as Jake Two tackled FP to the ground.

"Whoa woah! No kisses for now!" FP quickly said shielding herself, and Jake Two nodded. Still, he nuzzled her with his nose, and FP hugged him back.

"I'm glad to see you too." She said.

"I came as soon as I heard. Are you alright?" Cinnamon Bun asked.

"Well... All things considered, I guess you could say I'm fine."

"Bubblegum filled me in on everything. I'm... I'm very sorry about Finn."

FP crossed her arms.

"...You have something else to be sorry for." She said, and CB hung his head.

"I know but... Can we talk about it later?" CB requested, and FP looked over his shoulder to see the others were eyeing Huntress Wizard with that same look of curiosity.

"Very well." FP said.

"Okay Huntress. Tell us everything you know." Bubblegum said. Huntress Wizard put away the arrow she was fiddling with, and got ready to get down to business.

"I will, but as I'm sure you're already aware, Gravy here also knows who attacked the Grotto." She said, and Gravy looked at her.

"I think it would be better for you to tell them about your past than me." Huntress said, and Gravy eventually nodded.

"Myself and 'others' have taken to referring to them as the Barren.

You see, long before Ooo existed, even most of the world for that matter, there were many tribes that inhabited the existing lands.

I am a decedent of a tribe called the Mikira. My ancestors lived in caves- like my home, it once housed a prosperous Mikira village."

The others listened intently.

"At the time, we shared land with two other tribes; the Adali, and the Lakou. We were all at peace, and getting along with each other quite well.

Unfortunately... One of my ancestors got... Invested. He stumbled upon a prophecy relating to a certain ancient deity. Eventually... It grew into an obsession, and then, worship.

We called it something different back then... But to you, it is the one you refer to as Golb, the spawn of chaos."

They all gasped.

"He was corrupt to the bone. We attempted to sway him out of his insanity, but it didn't take long for him to gain a following. Eventually, they dawned a new life, a new purpose...

To destroy everything in their path.

They killed countless Mikira, and eventually swept the land and attacked the other tribes. This lead to conflict between the Adali and Lakou, because they believed the massacres were affiliated with us.

We were wiped out due to the Barren's attacks and the many wars that came of them. A few of us managed to hide, to escape, but we were scattered, left alone.

Over time the wounds did heal between us but... There was no denying the damage that had been done. As of now, I believe I am the last remaining descendant of the Mikira."

They were all silent.

Not a single one of them had guessed this went far deeper than a couple of maniacs with some obscure motive, or even considered how Gravy's past played into all of this.

"The Barren were relentless. Their influence had grown and they were proving unstoppable. However, they were eventually defeated. One of the Adali's scholars figured out a nasty little trick to put a stop to them. He banished them to a different plane of existence, a place devoid of time, coherence, physics-"

PB gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

"The pocket." Bubblegum interrupted. The others looked at her, confused.

"E-Excuse me. It's only theoretical, but a rift devoid of anything space-time exists between the fabric of this reality and different dimensions.

Whenever you see someone like a wizard make an object appear out of thin air, or your sword for example FP..."

Flame Princess inspected the ring on her finger.

"...It's being summoned from that rift. The ring is the bind, or the 'gate' if you will, that allows you to pull it out of there. I'm curious as to how someone managed to bind a person to it though, let alone an army." PB said further.

"Ah, I am unsure of that as well... But they managed to do it. They were locked away in that rift for eternity, at least, they were supposed to be." Gravy said, looking suspicously at Huntress Wizard.

"Yes... They were presumably locked away for good. However... A couple months ago..."

* * *

Huntress Wizard relaxed against the sprout of the tree, on a branch about thirty feet up. It wasn't part of her normal routine, but there had not been a disturbance in the forest for a number of days. She took it upon herself to relax for a little bit.

 _"It had been a slow week. The ecosystem seemed normal, no forest fires, I was just taking in the nature."_

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion filled the air, and Huntress shot up from the disturbance.

It was feint, it could have been small or a ways away.

She looked in the direction from where it came from, and sure enough, there was a small ploom of smoke emering from the treeline.

 _"I made my way towards the source... And when I arrived, the place was scorched. I'd missed quite the fued, but there was someone still there."_

It was a woman. She was wounded, and leaning against a tree.

She was of slim stature, and wore a torn shirt covered with straps, and her shoulders were covered by what seemed like leather pads. Her pants were also torn, and damaged braces covered her knees. It made her look like somewhat of a warrior, prepared for battle.

The most glaring feature however, was a mask covering her face. It was a feint blue color and looked to be made of wood. The bottom half was cracked, revealing part of her mouth, showing a skin tone of a darker blue.

* * *

"Hmm... So you ran into the Adali then." Gravy said.

"I didn't know it was them at the time... But yes." Huntress said.

The others looked at each other with puzzled looks.

"Hold on... The Adali are here? In Ooo?" FP asked.

"Yes." Gravy said. "They have a settlement in the forest. Though, they do prefer to keep it quiet. I'm on good terms with them, but I haven't been there in a while." He added.

"Let me continue..." Huntress insisted.

* * *

"Who are you? Are you okay?" Huntress Wizard asked the woman.

She didn't speak, just groaned in pain.

Then, she heard footsteps, and trees rustled.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded. What seemed like twenty or so similarly fashioned figures completely circled her, some on the ground, some in the trees, with swords at the ready.

Huntress was about to draw her bow.

"Wait!" A man yelled.

The people lowered their swords, and looked to a man who made his way out of the vegetation, and into Huntress' view.

He looked to be a general of some kind, his mask was different than the others with a black streak down the left side, and his shoulder pads were bigger with black symbols marked upon them.

"Who are you?" He asked Huntress.

"Oh nu uh, you're telling me who _you_ are, and what you're doing in _my_ forest." She said aggressively.

His cohorts looked at each other, Huntress swore she heard whispers among them. She saw one of them approach her, sword at the ready, and the general put a hand up.

"I'll handle this." He said, and the man let down his weapon.

"What do you mean _your_ forest?" He asked.

"Ehem, well I guess it's not technically mine, I just keep the peace around these parts... Or the circle of life I guess."

"I... Apologize for the disturbance. I am General Gerett of the Adali. We are looking for someone dangerous, it seems one of my own had a run in with him."

Huntress looked back at the injured woman, who was now being treated by two of them.

"...Adali? You're a collective?" Huntress asked.

"A tribe." He replied.

"Why are you looking for this person?" Huntress asked.

"He attacked our village, and there were more. The others are tracking them down as we speak." Gerett responded.

* * *

"I tried to help them track him down... But we lost his trail. After that, I told them I was willing to offer my assistance. They _are_ dwellers in the forest, despite them going unnoticed, and considering the threat the Barren posed to them I found it necessary. Then they took me back to their settlement, we assessed the damage, and Gerett filled me in on... Well, everything."

"I see... How is Gerett these days?" Gravy asked, which caused everyone to look at him with confusion.

"You know him?" Huntress asked.

"Ah, we go way back. Aria wasn't hurt was she?" He asked.

"Um, she was injured... But I was told it wasn't fatal. That's all I know." Huntress said, and Gravy chuckled to himself.

"Hm, if anything happens to that woman he's just gonna lose himself...

Anyways, please go on." He said, and Huntress nodded.

* * *

 _"So, I promised that I'd keep a look out for anything suspicious. There wasn't much to go off of so... We had no choice but to sit and wait."_

Huntress Wizard leaped across the treeline, not having a specific direction or goal, just keeping a keen eye.

She landed on a branch, but remained stationary. She heard to voices, one female and one male.

Nearing the source, she recognized it as Finn, and someone else she'd never heard before.

Further approaching, she saw him chatting with a fire elemental, and her memory sparked.

 _Is that... Finn's ex?_

 _..._

She gave one last look around attributed to her duties.

 _I've been at it for days... I can afford to mess with them for a bit._

* * *

"Mess with us?" FP asked with her arms crossed, at which Huntress giggled.

"What can I say, you two looked pretty cute."

 _Ugh she's doing it again!_ FP thought as her face turned red. The others looked at her with humorous smiles.

"So I caught up with them and asked if they saw anything suspicious. That's when..." Huntress motioned to FP.

"...We found out Finn was attacked that morning. He didn't want me to worry so... He kept it a secret."

"That's so him." Marcy added.

"Wait so... Why is it we're just now learning about this?" CB asked.

"Yeah... That's a good question." Jake added.

"The thing is... Huntress didn't tell us who it was or... Anything really. I'm still not sure why." FP said, at which everyone looked to Huntress with suspicion.

"For a number of reasons.

The Adali aren't really that fond of word getting out. At the time we thought the Barren were just trying to get revenge for their banishment. You guys didn't need to get involved, especially you and Finn." Huntress said to Flame Princess.

"But... It seems that because of this I only put you in more danger. We didn't know the Barren would stray off and do something like this.

For that, I'm very sorry." She said.

Initially, the gang was frustrated. But eventually they came to an understanding.

"No... It's not your fault." Flame Princess said.

"Yeah. There's no way you could have predicted this." Marceline said as well.

"In fact... I think we owe us your thanks. You saved FP and me, not to mention distracting them so everyone could escape." PB said.

"...Thanks guys." Huntress said.

"So... Is that everything?" Gravy asked.

"No. There's more, and here's where things start to get really weird."

* * *

Huntress Wizard resided inside what seemed like an interrogation room. The entire infrastructure looked to be made of tree roots, and a stool sat in the center along with the prisoner. Two Adali, one man and a woman, stood by as he was being interrogated.

Huntress was shouting demands and questions.

 _"I managed to track down the Barren that attacked Finn, and captured him._ _I brought him back to the settlement and we tried to get something... Anything we could to go off of. But he just sat there, motionless._

 _That's when it happened."_

Huntress stopped when she realized... What was being obscured by his body from her view was becoming visible.

He was fading away, disappearing.

They all stood by in shock as they witnessed the phenomenon occur. Then, he was gone, and his restraints fell against the floor.

* * *

"...What?" Jake said.

"Huh?" PB added.

"You're... Serious?" Marcy added further.

"Really. He literally vanished. Poof, just gone." Huntress replied.

"What the hell..." Marceline said holding her head.

"This is a lot man..." Jake added.

"Huntress. You need to take us to that settlement. Maybe I can help the Adali figure out how the Barren escaped the rift." PB said.

"Yeah. We can help you fight them too. This doesn't seem like just the Adali's problem anymore." Marceline said.

"Yes... It seems that way doesn't it." Huntress said, and took one more look at the group before speaking again. They showed looks of worry and empathy, it was clear to her they were intent on helping.

"Alright, if you all insist, I'll take you there tomorrow. Maybe we can find some more info on your condition as well FP." Huntress said, however, FP didn't seem all that excited.

"Um... I'd like to stay here with Finn, if that's okay with all of you." She said.

The others simply smiled at each other.

"Of course. He's gonna need someone to watch over him after all." Marceline said.

"We'll just see what we can find, then report back. Sound like a plan?" PB asked everyone, and they all nodded.

"Then I suggest you guys grab everything you need for the morning, and get a good rest." Huntress said.

Having figured out a game plan, the gang retreated to their respective rooms for the night. Jake, upon passing Flame Princess, got her attention.

"Hey FP." Jake said.

"Yes Jake?"

"Take care of Finn. I'm his brother and all but... He needs you right now. Let him know we're all pulling through for him too." Jake said.

FP took the dog's hand.

"I will. Thank you Jake... And good luck tomorrow."

He nodded, then walked off to his room.

"Now..." FP muttered. CB was waiting behind her, patiently.

"We have something to discuss." She continued, and Jake Two whimpered.

* * *

 **Yup this is happening.**

 **Keep me posted on errors and thanks for your continued interest.**


	18. Chapter 18

"Pheobe... Li-"

 _SMACK!_

Cinnamon Bun recoiled back, and rubbed his cheek from the (still) searing pain of FP's hand.

"...Why?" FP asked.

"I-" CB tried to respond, but FP quickly put her hand up to silence him.

"No. I know exactly why."

CB then gave a nervous chuckle, despite the grim nature of the situation...

"You looked so happy... I couldn't take that away from you." He said. Jake Two, still present in the hallway, snuggled up under FP's arm, whimpering. She pet him in response.

"I'm sorry. I know how you feel about honesty... What I did wasn't right."

FP sighed, and CB stood up.

"What was your plan? Just keep it from me until I have to find out the hard way?" She asked.

"I uh... I didn't have a plan. I didn't know what to do.

...Haha, you know the kingdom likes to call me the 'Wise Pastry' but I was pretty stumped with this one."

FP took a step towards him, then another, until she was within arms reach. Then, reached out and hugged him. CB returned it gratefully.

It wasn't just his inevitable death and emotional frustration that provoked it, the events that occured at nightfall were still fresh in her mind. She wasn't showing it fully, but she was still shaken from the attack, and having her knight here, in his arms, comforted her greatly.

"I'm sorry I slapped you..." She muttered.

"No. Don't be." CB responded.

"How long? Until... You..."

CB broke away from her, laughing a bit.

"Pheobe... It's not like I'm sick or anything. Still gonna be around for a long while, and I'm gonna be there for you the whole way."

She smiled at his enthusiasm, but the thought of him leaving was still present in the back of her mind.

"But... Why did you tell Finn?" She asked.

"I told him because I wanted his oath."

She tilted her head.

"...Oath?"

Then it hit her, and she gasped.

"CB! Did you swear Finn into being my knight!?"

"No of course not! That's his decision and his decision alone. The oath...

Was that he'd always be there for you, to protect you, to comfort you, to make you happy in your grimmest times.

I made him promise that. He swore he'd lay down his life for you, no matter the cost."

Flame Princess then turned to the door that stood between her and Finn's injured body.

"Finn..."

"He really does love you ya know. Bubblegum told me what happened... And I can't help but feel responsible for dragging him into this..."

"No. _That_ was my fault. You don't have to be sorry for any of that.

He... Just wanted to talk with me about it but didn't know how... And I let my anger cloud my better judgement."

The memories flooded her mind again, and she held her head in shame. Then, her hands clenched her hair, as she became angry with guilt.

Then, she laughed. Those laughs soon turned into a mess of cries and sobs.

"Well what am I thinking huh? Why am I the one staying with him? Silly of me to think of getting closer... While I gave him the gob damned boot."

"Woah okay, hold on." CB held her shoulders, and she wiped her face of the tears. The split second question rose of what they could be... Water? She didn't know, she didn't want to think about it.

"If you'd just let me..." CB said, as she wiped away a stray tear from her face.

"Let me tell you, the first thing Finn wants to see when he wakes up is you, and that you're safe and sound."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah... And I suggest you don't miss out in case he does." He said, looking at the door. Flame Princess nodded, and gave CB another hug.

"Thank you CB... And good luck tomorrow." She said.

"Mhm." He replied, and FP made her way to the door.

"Oh! How could I forget?" She said slapping her forehead.

"What about the kingdom?" She asked.

"I requested Torcho temporarily stand in for you, just as a representative, nothing more." CB said, and FP sighed.

"That'll have to do. Er, before you go to bed could you send a message to Torcho for me?"

"Yes! What is it?" CB replied.

"Just tell him that... I'm going to be away for a while. I don't know how long, at least until Bubblegum figures out how to fix _this,_ and I want to make sure Finn's okay."

CB nodded.

"Absolutely, I'll put in a word with the guards. Get some rest Princess."

FP nodded.

"Will do, thanks again." FP said, and went back towards the door to enter, leaving Jake Two and CB to go to their respective room.

* * *

Flame Princess pulled up an arm chair to sit next to him. The only thing illuminating the room was the moonlight, as the heartrate monitor was set to dimmer.

Holding his hand in her's, she felt disgusted with herself, as the memories flooded back.

 _You didn't deserve any of this... None of it._

 _You've gone through so much... Too much._

 _Even after all this time... I still can't learn to control myself._

 _Finn... You don't have to be sorry. Please don't be sorry._

 _ **I'm**_ _sorry. I promise... I'll do better next time._

 _And... Thank you._

Flame Princess was holding out hope he'd wake up any second, so she could tell him how much she loved him, how she was sorry and that he had nothing to be ashamed of.

But... She knew it would still be a little while.

 _I can wait..._

Flame Princess scooted the chair closer so it was now against the hospital bed. Climbing on top of it, she laid her legs on the chair with the rest of her body on the bed, snuggling against Finn's side, and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 _Wh-_

 _Where... Am..._

Finn could barely open his eyes as he tried to scan the room.

 _The... Candy... Wha?_

Feeling something against his left side, he tried to look down.

"...Flame?" He muttered, but no response came.

He could barely feel his body, but found just enough strength to move his left arm, holding Flame Princess's head.

"I'm... Tired now...

Another... Time..."

His mind went blank once again, as he passed out.

* * *

 _*Knock Knock*_

"Wha!?" Jake jumped up, startled. Princess Bubblegum peeked her head through the door, along with Marceline.

"...PB? Marceline?"

They each walked over to him. Jake was still wide awake, while Lady was fast asleep next to him.

"Hey. Can you sleep?" PB asked, and Jake sighed.

"Can you expect me to? After something like that... I'm lucky Lady's an easy sleeper." He said, stroking her hair.

Marceline smirked at him, then looked at PB, and they tried to conceal a giggle. Jake was left confused.

"What?" He asked.

"Come on, we know something that'll help." Marcy said.

Jake was skeptical, but figured he wasn't going to get any sleep anyways so he got up from the bed. The girls led him out of the room, and Jake grew even more suspicous as he discovered they were leading him towards Finn's room.

"Guys... I know you think seeing Finn will cheer me up but this isn't really... Huh?"

Upon rounding the corner he was greeted with... Everyone. Huntress, Gravy, CB and Jake Two, even Peppermint Buttler. They were all peeking through Finn's slightly open door.

"Uh... What's going on?" Jake asked.

"Shh! Just c'mere!" Huntress said urgently waving her hand. Jake approached them and attempted to squeeze into the tight space of people, and eventually got a good view through the door.

What he saw almost melted his heart.

Flame Princess was lying on her makeshift bed with the chair against Finn's side, meanwhile the human had his arm resting around her shoulders, along with his head resting against her's.

Jake couldn't control the smile he held on his face.

"Okay... I feel better now." Jake whispered.

"Told you." Marcy said.

"Let's do our best tomorrow guys. For Ooo, and for them." PB said.

"Right." They all replied.


End file.
